Bertelsmann Subsidiary Relias Learning Expands to Europe
- Online training provider launches in the UK
- Bertelsmann Education Group supports internationalization
The Bertelsmann Education Group is advancing the regional expansion of its businesses: the online learning provider Relias Learning’s offering is now available in Britain, and additional European markets are to follow in the months ahead. In other news, the learning and training platform Udacity, in which Bertelsmann’s education division also owns a stake, recently launched in Germany and China.
Relias provides online training for professionals in various healthcare industries, including senior care and other healthcare professions such as behavioral therapy and disability care. The company serves nearly 5,000 organizations, whose employees complete around 30 million courses a year. Bertelsmann had acquired Relias in 2014 for an amount in the mid-nine-digit range – the international media, service and education company’s biggest acquisition in the U.S. since its takeover of Random House in 1998.
Kay Krafft, CEO of Bertelsmann Education Group , said: “Education is a strategic growth business for Bertelsmann – worldwide. Relias Learning has a mature, comprehensive solution that will be applicable and valuable to the UK healthcare market. When we survey the climate and challenges that healthcare providers throughout the UK are facing today, we are confident that Relias Learning will help set a new industry standard in the UK.”
Specifically, the initial UK product offering comprises 28 statutory mandatory training topics that all health professionals must complete each year, as well as a curriculum of courses and tools to meet the Care Certificate requirement for inducting Health Care Assistants. Further courses will be added in the months ahead.
“We are excited about joining the UK healthcare market,” said Jim Triandiflou, CEO of Relias Learning. “Relias’ ambition is to help serve the most vulnerable members of society throughout the world and those that care for them. We are able to do that by offering a learning system that helps create a well-trained, engaged, and productive staff that delivers top quality care.”
Deanna Roepke, Managing Director of Relias Learning in Europe, added: “There is a critical need for high-quality, impactful, cost-effective eLearning in the UK right now. The Relias Learning system has a long track record of dramatically reducing training costs while increasing productivity and the quality of care.”
Bertelsmann is focusing its education activities on online education with a focus on healthcare and technology. Beyond Relias Learning, other companies in the Bertelsmann Education Group include the online education provider Udacity and the online education services provider HotChalk.
About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company that operates in about 50 countries around the world. It includes the broadcaster RTL Group, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House, the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, the music company BMG, the service provider Arvato, the Bertelsmann Printing Group, the Bertelsmann Education Group, and Bertelsmann Investments, an international network of funds. The company has 117,000 employees and generated revenues of €17.1 billion in the 2015 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination promotes first-class media content and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world.
About the Bertelsmann Education Group
The Bertelsmann Education Group encompasses Bertelsmann's education businesses. The group is shaping learning in the twenty-first century with digital education and service offerings focused on the healthcare and technology sectors, and draws on Bertelsmann's resources and global network. The Bertelsmann Education Group is wholly owned by Bertelsmann.
About Relias Learning
Relias Learning offers an eLearning solution to NHS organizations, care homes and GP practices and federations. Relias offers unrivaled content, the ability for customers to create their own training and track live training sessions, and allows for the demonstration of skill and performance, all in a singular, powerful learning management system.
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