HOW LEARNNOVATORS HELPED CLE
EDUCATE ITS HANDLERS WITH LIVE CATTLE TRANSPORTATION SKILLS
USING A GAME-BASED TRAINING APPROACH

THE CUSTOMER

The Council for Leather Exports (CLE) is a non-profit organization that functions under the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India. The Council is entrusted with export promotion and the overall development of the Indian leather industry. Among other things, the Council’s activities include promoting Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and Joint Ventures (JV) in the Indian leather industry, and it serves as a bridge between Indian leather exporters and buyers all over the world. It also serves as a vital link between the Government and the leather industry, representing important policy measures.

The CLE is headquartered in Chennai, with Regional Offices and Extension Offices spread across the country.

THE REQUIREMENT

As part of its commitment towards the overall development and growth of the leather industry, the CLE had always been on the lookout for measures to ensure quality in its processes. In this regard, the council was taking efforts to ensure its handlers follow government guidelines for loading and unloading cattle and transporting them to slaughter houses for butchering.

Transporting live cattle in an inhumane way used to be a common sight in Indian cities. Animal rights activists say that live animal transport in India was amongst the cruelest in the world and needed reformation not only for the sake of the animals but also to ensure better hygienic meat. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the world’s largest animal rights organization, had been campaigning against Indian leather products abroad to end cruelty to cattle being taken for slaughter in the country.

CLE was investing considerable time, effort, and budget on training handlers on live cattle transportation and handling procedures based on the best practices in the industry. However, the challenges were typical to that of any instructor-led training program, including the need to have an automated drill-and-practice method of instruction. In addition to the mind-boggling logistical issues involved, there was also the language barrier – India speaks dozens of languages and hundreds of dialects.

That led CLE to consider having an e-learning program developed to address the need. The following factors had to be considered about the profile of the audience.

• Learners were illiterate; they could not read or write. They could only speak in their mother tongue.
• They had a very short attention span.
• They didn’t possess even basic computer skills.

The company partnered with Learnnovators to find the most effective solution to address their unique business problem.

THE SOLUTION

Learnnovators, in partnership with Ogilvy & Mather, conducted a detailed analysis of CLE’s business need and audience profile, and proposed a game-based, kiosk-delivered e-learning program on ‘Live Cattle Transportation Skills’. The objective of the proposed program was to educate handlers on the procedures to be followed while loading and unloading live cattle during transportation.

The following were the instructional strategies that Learnnovators adopted in this program:

• Kiosk-based Learning: The program was designed to work on mobile kiosks taken to learners’ workplaces all across the country.
  
  
• Minimally Invasive Learning: The learning module was designed with a high level of intuitiveness for delivering with minimal intervention by trainers.
  
  
• Game-based Learning: The gaming elements in the module helped gain and retain learners’ interest, thereby making learning highly engaging.
  
  
• Drill-and-Practice Learning: Though the learning module allowed learners to perform the activity on their own, they were encouraged and motivated to practice the activity till they mastered the learning and achieved perfection.
  
  
• Activity-based Learning: Though there were many learning points that demanded theoretical explanation in the module, these were presented in the form of highly engaging activities.
  
  
• Language Agnostic Learning: The learning module was made to work independent of language. This was achieved by the use of graphics, symbols, and icons exclusively to convey the message.
  
  
• Adaptive Learning: The difficulty-level of the game was programmatically made to change based on learners’ responses. This helped personalize the level of instruction to a great extent, thus resulting in a better and more effective learning experience.

THE BENEFITS

CLE´s handlers experienced a simple, fun, engaging and stimulating game that traveled to their worksite and enabled them to take a few hours off from their otherwise packed schedule. What they did not realize then was that this game also made them far more effective and organized at their work.

The course also helped CLE cut training costs considerably, thereby increasing training ROI.

The training feedback was so encouraging that CLE was able to turn around the mindset of its handlers by instilling a feeling of satisfaction, discipline, and professionalism in the way they operated. CLE received commendable feedback from animal rights organizations and activists for its efforts in curbing cruelty to
animals.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

The following were the highlights of the e-learning program that Learnnovators developed for CLE:

• Drill-and-Practice Approach that helped learners practice their knowledge and skills till they achieved the needed level of mastery.
• Adaptive Learning Approach that helped them gain a better and more effective learning experience.

TOOLS USED

Adobe Flash, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Sonic Foundry Sound Forge