Oct 23, 2022 | Business
Handcrafted Learning, a learning and development company that serves Fortune 500 clients, has been minority- and woman-owned since it was founded in 2009. This month marks the five-year anniversary of Handcrafted Learning becoming certified by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the two leading certification organizations for minority- and women-owned businesses in the United States.
Certification by each organization was a milestone in Handcrafted Learning’s history. “Handcrafted Learning has always been proud to be a woman- and minority-owned small business,” said Handcrafted Learning’s owner and co-founder, Dorothy Cafino Finnigan. “One of the best parts of becoming certified by WBENC and NMSDC has been the opportunity to connect with other women of color who lead businesses. It’s a really special community that supports one another.”
Increasingly, Fortune 500 companies are measuring their internal and external impact on equity. “Over the last few years, many of our clients have started using an inclusion index or diversity scorecard to track their progress,” said Handcrafted Learning’s Director of Operations, Soo Choi. “One of the ways companies evaluate their impact on diversity and inclusion is by collecting data on the diversity of their supplier base.”
For Handcrafted Learning and the 12,000 minority-owned businesses certified by NMSDC and the 18,000 women-owned businesses certified by WBENC, being certified allows clients to track and report that data.
Women of color are a distinct minority among founders and leaders of tech companies. “Thanks to WBENC and NMSDC, we’ve met trailblazing women of color leading companies in other male-dominated industries like finance, data and analytics, and manufacturing,” Cafino Finnigan said. “As women of color running a business, it can be easy to feel alone because you don’t often see yourself represented. That’s why it’s so powerful and inspiring to be part of these organizations. I’m grateful for all the people I’ve met, and the ways we’ve been able to help each other, practically and personally.”
About Handcrafted Learning
Handcrafted Learning is a learning and development company that designs and develops innovative learning experiences for its Fortune 500 clients. Its team has served clients in every major industry, including high-tech, hospitality, and financial services. Handcrafted Learning is proud to be a certified minority-owned and woman-owned business.
May 23, 2022 | Business
Scotland’s leading digital learning and assessment specialist, eCom Learning Solutions, has welcomed the decision to name Dunfermline as one of eight new cities, so designated to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
According to the UK’s Cabinet Office, Dunfermline, as a new city, can expect a boost to local communities and an opening-up of new opportunities for people who live there. It cited research suggesting that, after it was appointed a city in 2012, Perth, in Scotland, has seen the local economy expand by 12% in the decade – principally through this putting Perth ‘on the international map’ and, thus, attracting foreign business.
“With eCom Learning Solutions’ headquarters being in Dunfermline for the last 25 years, I’m delighted with its new city status,” commented Wendy Edie, eCom’s Managing Director. “For a place with such rich royal history, it’s fitting that Dunfermline is becoming a city as we celebrate our longest-serving monarch’s Platinum Jubilee.
“This new status should help raise our profile, along with all Dunfermline-based businesses that are eyeing international markets. It should certainly give a boost to eCom’s international business – in terms of the eLearning and eAssessment – including virtual reality (VR) assessment – materials we produce, along with the systems we offer, including the eNetLearn learning management system (LMS).
“eCom already generates nearly 55% of its annual revenue from outside the UK, with a further eight per cent coming from sales to organisations in England,” added Wendy. “We have current clients in the USA, Canada, the European Union, the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent – and we’re opening-up markets in southern Africa among other places.”
The announcement of Dunfermline’s new civic honours makes it Scotland’s eighth city, joining Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, Stirling and Inverness. Dunfermline, which has a population of nearly 59,000 people, was granted the honour based on its royal associations and cultural heritage, as well as the uniqueness of its community and distinct local identity.
While Dunfermline’s most famous son is Andrew Carnegie, whose steel industry helped to build America, the city was once Scotland’s capital and one of the seats of the kings of Scotland in the Middle Ages. The new city’s first notable incident occurred in the 11th Century when Malcolm III, King of Scots, married Margaret at the church (later the Abbey) in Dunfermline.
Dunfermline Abbey became a royal mausoleum for the Scottish Crown, with some 18 royals, including Robert The Bruce, buried there. The Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England in 1603 ended Dunfermline’s town’s connections, when James VI (known as James I in England) relocated the Scottish Court to London in 1603.
eCom creates innovative learning solutions – aimed at increasing learning engagement and driving productivity – to help organisations achieve their goals. With offices in Dunfermline, Scotland, and Athens, Georgia, in the USA, but with customers from around the world, eCom focuses on the delivery, tracking and reporting of workforce learning and development through innovative technologies. Its products and services address a range of workforce management, development and training challenges, including eLearning, online assessment, blended learning, competency management and accreditation.
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