SME Trade Academy gets thumbs up from participants

Taking an online course through the International Trade Centre’s (ITC) SME Trade Academy is good way of improving skills and knowledge – that is the verdict of 325 former participants.

Impact levels of the courses offered by the SME Trade Academy were perceived to be ‘very high’, according to a survey of former students. All of the respondents answered that they had improved their skills and knowledge, 95% answered that they were able to apply the skills gained in online courses at their workplace, and 97% answered that they are currently using their new skills to better serve their clients.

With 42% of participants coming from the private sector and 89% of these working for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the ITC Trade Academy is reaching its target audience.

Post-course evaluations have also found that for 47% of participants, this had been their first online learning experience. In addition, of those with past experience in online learning, 83% reported that the SME Trade Academy’s online courses were ‘better’ than those that they had taken previously.

Conducted in June 2016, this survey is the first of a series of biannual surveys to assess the impact of courses offered by the ITC SME Trade Academy. The survey will allow ITC to better understand the identity and expectations of its course participants and help refine the platform and offer courses even more aligned to the needs of participants.

In June, the SME Trade Academy recorded its 10,000th participant.

Learn more about the ITC SME Trade Academy.