A Neath-based training company is reaping the rewards of its investment in taking its offering online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by winning a major contract on the other side of the Atlantic.

Call of the Wild was quick to pivot its offering when lockdown measures started being introduced. It moved from almost exclusively operating using face-to-face delivery to rolling out a bespoke online programme, which allows it to fulfil the needs of customers quickly and efficiently – wherever they are in the world.

On the back of that, it has secured a contract to deliver management development leadership training to a large engineering company with sites in Minneapolis and Tallahassee, USA.

The programme is based on experiential practice activities followed by on-the-job evaluation of what was learned before developing a strategy for continuous improvement. Some 35 senior leaders in the company will complete the programme, which, because of its digital nature, can be completed in a much shorter timescale – the programme should take around three months, as opposed to the usual 10 months.

The course, which comprises five master-class sessions followed by workshops, helps develop the leadership skills and mental resilience of participants. All those doing it will be on a journey from being very skilled technicians and engineers to becoming managers – a position that requires a very different skillset. It teaches them how to better communicate and manage projects, finance and performance in a changing business environment.

Now, the company is leveraging the contract as a springboard to market similar services to other countries around the world including Australia, China, and parts of Europe. This strategy has already proved successful as during February the company worked with a leading software company head quartered in New Jersey, USA, delivering a team building and resilience programme prepared for their sales teams in South Africa, Australia, Russia, Dubai, and Europe.

Call of the Wild aims to continue to tap into the growing willingness of big companies to invest in their staff, keeping them engaged and motivated through the challenges presented by COVID-19.

Some experts suggest that the e-learning industry globally would be worth $325 billion by 2025. This figure may well quadruple as a result of the enforced acceleration driven by COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns. In the UK, many professional bodies including the CIPD are urging companies to invest in training their staff to enhance both mental wellbeing and boost economic recovery.

Mark Soanes, managing director of Call of the Wild, said:

“We were delighted to deliver this course to such a large global client and see first-hand the difference it made. Like many companies, we were forced to change our offering due to COVID-19 and, while that has meant challenges, this contract also demonstrates the potential upside for companies such as ours.

“We are based in a rural location in Wales and the landscape around where we are based in the Brecon Beacons has always been our USP. But this illustrates that once companies go digital and embrace the online world, there is a global market there for the taking. We have proved our offering is scalable beyond the UK, not restricted by geography and deliverable in a very timely manner. We now look forward to winning many similar contracts in the future.”

Call of the Wild works very closely with its clients, many of them blue chip, to create tailor-made learning and team-building sessions, identifying the specific needs and aims of each client company. Its bespoke courses focus on achieving desired outcomes by creating positive behavioural change within the workplace. The programmes all have measurable outcomes and are aimed specifically at delivering a return on the client’s investment.