...Combined strength to give customers the most comprehensive blend of learning solutions and innovative training tools...
LONDON – Monday 17th October 2011 - QA, the global training company that transforms performance through learning, today announced that it has acquired Aikona, one of the largest and most respected specialist project and programme management training organisations. The acquisition will strengthen QA’s market leading position in project management training and will deliver an enhanced service for the provision of customised training courses and consultancy for private and public sector organisations.
The acquisition is effective from 10th October 2011, and brings all of Aikona’s business to QA, from its public training courses to its national and international blue chip customer base. All customers of the combined group will have access to the full portfolio of services from both organisations. This will include the UK’s widest range of technical, business applications, project and service management, and personal development courses, plus accredited project management courses for the world’s leading best practice methodologies including Agile, APM, PMI®, PRINCE2®, P3O®, PPS , MSP®, and MoR®.
CEO of QA, William Macpherson, comments, “QA has always recognised that specialist knowledge and long standing relationships are vital components of outstanding customer service. Adding Aikona’s twenty-five years of expertise to QA’s existing high-quality offering will help us continue to deliver our world class training programmes to customers in a wide range of locations around the globe at a competitive price.”
Macpherson continues, “This acquisition will help extend QA’s position as an industry leader and assist us in further developing our training provision in the areas of business, technical and professional skills and leadership behaviours. Our combined strengths will give customers the most comprehensive blend of learning solutions and tools and the increased scale of the group will allow customers to tap into an even bigger pool of leading industry and training experts. For the UK, it will mean QA training is even more accessible, with training locations from Aberdeen to Exeter and the UK’s largest public schedule of courses.”
QA is one of the largest business learning providers; currently, the company delivers over 500,000 delegate days of training based upon 1,500 courses, with over 300 employed learning and subject specialists and 25 dedicated customer support people.
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About QA
QA provides award-winning global bespoke training programmes for corporates, public sector organisations and individuals. The company offers the most comprehensive range of training across topics such as technical IT, project and programme management, service management, desktop applications and professional development. With over 1,500 accredited courses delivered through an innovative mix of eLearning, virtual and onsite classroom based training, QA prides itself in providing a highly effective learning experience and supportive environment for all delegates. QA operates from over 20 training centres in the UK and Ireland and also delivers international eLearning and classroom based training in many other countries around the world.
QA supports the following key disciplines and development:
Project management: PRINCE2®; Agile, Scrum project management; APM (Association for Project Management); PMI (Project Management Institute), ISEB certificates in project management;
Programme and Portfolio: MSP (Managing Successful Projects); MoP™ (Management of Portfolios); P3O® (Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices); ISEB PPSO (Programme and Project Support Office) and PPS (Programme and Project Sponsorship);
Risk and change management: M_o_R® (Management of Risk); and PCM (Principles of Change Management)
ITIL service management, Business analysis, Vendor, IT and business application training: a wide range of accredited and award winning technical IT training. Click here for a full list
Professional development training: tailored professional development training specifically to support senior managers Business Relationships; Communication Skills; Customer Service; Management and Leadership; Personal Effectiveness
QA has a 20 year record of delivering world class learning solutions and is the training partner of choice for organisations such as British Airways, Unilever, Nationwide Building Society and Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).
PRINCE2®, ITIL®, M_o_R®, P3O®, MSP® are registered trademarks of the Cabinet Office. MoP™ is a trade mark of the Cabinet Office.
Lena Ahad
Technology PR
lena@technologypr.eu
www.technologypr.eu
+44 (0)7908 725212