Making Clean Technology Learning a Business
In the age of clean technology and sustainable industry some companies are at a loss for ways to keep staff and clients up to speed, explains Symbiont’s Managing Director, Tina Wilks.
“Some businesses have great policies but lack the resources they need to introduce these to staff in an effective way. Others struggle to educate their potential customers and so are losing out on valuable sales,” says Tina.
Symbiont designs and develops education and training resources for private and government sectors, including industry training providers, in New Zealand and overseas. The company has also recently launched a range of education and training courses in the sustainable industry and clean technology areas.
This development in Symbiont’s product offering came about after engagement with Grow Wellington’s Business Growth Team.
“The team helped me identify a gap in the market that existed specifically for clean technology and sustainable industry practice,” says Tina.
After this, Symbiont began developing programmes around clean technology and sustainable industry, delivering them directly to learners through their e-learning subsidiary, Green Futures.
Part of the business plan included an office relocation in 2012 to the Clean Technology Centre in Otaki. The centre provides high-tech infrastructure and growth space for businesses who research and commercialise clean technology.
At the Clean Technology Centre Symbiont joined a hub of businesses working around developing sustainable industry. The relationship is already proving fruitful, with Tina able to see first-hand, her neighbours’ needs for e-learning unfolding.
Originally from the United Kingdom, Tina moved with her family to the Wellington region when her partner was relocated here. She was impressed by the high standard of the education system here, particularly the positive attitude towards adult education.
“Mature students could still find pathways to new careers, something that didn’t seem so easy back in the UK” explains Tina.
The Wellington region with its spaces, forests and beaches also offered a beautiful natural lifestyle environment, something that would eventually link to Tina’s aspirations for her own business.
Tina’s own move into education and e-learning came with a position as a lecturer in bioscience in the Nursing Department at Whitireia Polytechnic. During this time she developed a number of degree papers as well as e-learning courses. Wishing to expand her expertise in education design she took up a post with the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand.
In late 2003, together with her eldest son, Tina established Symbiont. Their vision was to combine their expertise in adult education with the best in computer technology to produce innovative and effective workplace training solutions for small and medium-sized businesses.
They started researching and developing their first training product and were asked to design an interactive CD for barista training. “At this point we both had full-time jobs so the R&D was very much part-time,” Tina explains.
When faced with redundancy in 2006 Tina decided to work full-time in Symbiont. “My contacts continued to approach me with projects so I needed to take the opportunity.” The client list expanded dramatically and now Symbiont employs anywhere between two to 18 contract or full time staff, depending on the projects undertaken.
Symbiont’s key business is now divided into two areas, the development of training resources for external clients, and the development of their own education and training products in the sustainable industry and clean technology areas.
Symbiont’s clients are mostly from New Zealand and include private companies and government agencies but also overseas education providers such as the Commonwealth of Learning in Vancouver, Canada.
The company’s e-learning delivery arm, Green Futures, now offers a course for 16 – 19 year olds, Futureworx 1, which introduces workplace sustainability.
This course was piloted in September 2012 with three secondary schools and one private training enterprise (PTE). Using a blend of online study and a workbook that can be used in class, students apply their learning into real-word workplace environments. Feedback from both students and teachers has been positive.
“Futureworx 1 is a very exciting development. Knowledge of sustainable workplace practice combined with associated skills developed on the course can give young people an added advantage in a competitive job market,” says Tina.
Symbiont also has a number of other e-learning courses currently in development, including one specifically designed for employees in small and medium businesses.
“We always evaluate our in-house projects for their ability to extend beyond New Zealand. The Futureworx concept is particularly exciting because the courses can be easily accessed by overseas students and education providers.”