Exponential growth for ECTV
At the end of May, pay-to-view channel Engineering and Construction TV (ECTV) - operated by the multimedia and broadcast learning company, Life Long Learning Solutions (LLLS) - already had well in excess of 700 subscribed viewers, achieved after only four broadcasts.
Says Johan Gerber, CEO of LLLS, "We are very satisfied with the update to the channel, and the response has been positive to the first few programmes in the Engineers in Practice series that is sponsored by the South African Association of Consulting Engineers.
"Most of the large consulting engineering firms have registered their technicians and engineers to participate in the continuing professional development (CPD) programme, and these firms are including this learning programme in their workplace skills plans. It is no surprise that many small firms have registered as well, as it seems they have recognised that this is an opportunity to participate in training with minimal time and effort.
He continues, "The essence of CPD is keeping up-to-date and with time pressures and commitments; many people don't get as much time as they would like to attend industry seminars and conferences. What is contributing to ECTV's success is the fact that, although it is CPD training, it is presented in a lively news and discussion format.
SMS validation test
"This, of course, is besides the fact that viewers are compelled to watch the programmes and participate in an SMS validation test to generate their online certificates of participation in order to comply with the statutory requirements of the Engineering Council of South Africa's CPD policy."
The topics tackled monthly by the Association through Engineers in Practice have wide appeal and a number of independent viewers who are not registered engineering professionals, but who work in the industry, have subscribed as well.
ECTV follows on the success of its sister company, E-Doc, a channel which has carried broadcast CPD educational material for doctors, dentist and veterinarians for the last eight years. Both channels operate on the same technology platform which allows for direct subscriber marketing and communication via SMS and email as well as CPD verification and points management.
ECTV is broadcast monthly on the first Wednesday of every month to almost 800 consulting engineers representing a large proportion of the engineering and construction fraternity. The pay-to-view channel has grown exponentially since its first broadcast on 1 February this year and aims to break the 1000 subscriber milestone with its next two broadcasts.
Channel content negotiations are underway with other training bodies and associations in the construction and engineering sector and the channel hopes to provide further hours of CPD viewing to the sector catering to other niche disciplines within the sector.
