N.J. Selects GeoLearning LMS Platform to Manage Training for Homeland Security

GeoLearning, Inc., the leading provider of ASP-hosted human capital management and development (HCMD) solutions, announced today that it has been awarded a $2.56 million 3-year contract with the New Jersey Department of Law & Public Safety on behalf of New Jersey’s Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force to deliver first responder training to 145,000 police, fire and emergency personnel using the GeoMaestro™ learning management platform. In addition to providing a cost-effective and time-efficient infrastructure capable of disseminating public safety-related training to first responders throughout the State, GeoLearning’s Internet-hosted platform will be used to manage competencies, skills development, employee selection and succession planning related to homeland security.

“We are both proud and honored to be chosen as the technology backbone for the State of New Jersey’s first responder training initiative,” said Frank Russell, president & CEO of GeoLearning. “The State’s homeland security initiative is critical to public safety, disaster preparedness and its ability to respond to a disaster, making it substantial in scope and importance. No other platform is better suited to address New Jersey’s extensive human capital management needs as quickly or efficiently as GeoLearning’s hosted solution.”

The primary objective of New Jersey’s initiative is to deploy the most current disaster response training to 145,000 Emergency First Responders in the State spanning 23 police academies, 18 fire academies and 212 other eligible training organizations. The GeoMaestro™ platform will create a “Virtual Academy” to manage student training records, identify training deficiencies and certify training compliance and readiness among New Jersey’s municipalities and counties. The Virtual Academy’s course catalog will list all training available to the first responder community from a multitude of sources including colleges, the Red Cross, and local police and fire academies.

The initiative’s secondary goal is to provide, at both a state and local level, an up-to-date list of available trained personnel that can be identified and deployed quickly in the event of a crisis situation. The GeoLearning system will track all training delivery modes, including e-learning and classroom-based, compiling attendance and performance records to create a comprehensive database upon which emergency management teams can rely to plan for and respond to disasters.

GeoLearning’s Professional Services Group will help the State define first responder job profiles and behavioral and technical competencies. These profiles and competencies will then be managed by CompetencyPlus, a modular component of the GeoMaestro™ system that will link individual competency gaps to learning and development, and create a central repository of resources and associated skill sets for proactive selection and succession planning.

About GeoLearning, Inc.
GeoLearning is the leading provider of ASP-hosted human capital management and development (HCMD) solutions, having been chosen by more than 350 organizations around the world to manage learning and development. The company’s GeoMaestro™ and GeoExpress™ learning management platforms offer robust registration, tracking and reporting functionality crucial for managing enterprise-wide learning, development and knowledge acquisition. With no hardware or software to install, GeoLearning’s ASP-hosted platforms can be deployed quickly, allowing clients to efficiently manage human capital development, accelerate critical business processes, and drive organizational performance. Additional information is available at www.geolearning.com.

About the New Jersey Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force
Created in October 2001 by the Domestic Security Preparedness Act, New Jersey’s Domestic Security Preparedness Task is the cabinet-level body responsible for setting state homeland security policy and for coordinating its implementation. One of the many aspects of homeland security the Task Force has implemented is ensuring that New Jersey’s first responders have the equipment and training necessary to mitigate or respond to a terrorist attack. The Domestic Security Preparedness Act also specifically charges the Domestic Security Preparedness Planning Group, a Task Force subgroup, with formulating “recommendations for the development of necessary training programs…for the Task Force to fulfill its duties under this act.” Located in the Department of Law and Public Safety, and chaired by the Attorney General, the Task Force is made up of the commissioners of the New Jersey departments of Agriculture, Community Affairs, Environmental Protection, Health and Senior Services, Military and Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and by the heads of the Board of Public Utilities, Division of State Police/Office of Emergency Management, Office of Counter-Terrorism, Office of Information Technology and Governor’s Office of Recovery and Victim Assistance.