…Practical, interactive training to help new and non-financial employees gain a robust understanding of financial mathematics...

Monday 29th June 2009– CTG – a division of ILX Group plc, the company that provides tailored training programmes to the financial community and corporates, today announced the launch of a new interactive e-learning course called Financial Maths.  The course will help individuals rapidly gain a basic level of financial knowledge, which they can use as a springboard to grasp more complex concepts.  In addition to supporting new starters in the banking and finance sector, CTG’s e-learning course is targeted to help non-financial and commercial staff develop a better understanding of the fundamentals of financial decision making.  Financial Maths may also be deployed by business schools and university faculties wishing to provide interactive e-learning to undergraduate or postgraduate students studying for relevant degrees.

In particular, Financial Maths solves a common problem for global banks and financial institutions that recruit large numbers of graduates and other new joiners each year.  To enable new staff from non-financial backgrounds attain a basic level of comprehension prior to attending more advanced training programmes employers commonly need to run “boot camps”. These boot camps are typically two days in length and a substantial proportion of time is devoted to financial mathematics.  Some of the new starters will travel from their home countries to the bank or financial institution’s headquarters to undertake this pre-requisite classroom training before their main learning programme – so there is also a real opportunity to reduce the associated travel, hotel and subsistence costs to the organisation.

By contrast, the Financial Maths e-learning course requires only two to three hours of the learner’s time.  The course covers topics such as the time value of money, annual and effective annual rates (EAR) of interest, investment appraisal, annuities, mortgages, perpetuities and growing perpetuities, and how to use key functions on Microsoft Excel 2007.  Delegates can complete the training at their own desk in their own town or country, generating savings in time, resources and costs for the individual and the organisation.  When delegates come together in the classroom, they are then able to move forward at a faster pace in their studies because everyone now shares a common core level of capability.

Martin Mitchell, Head of e-Learning at CTG comments: “We have 15 years’ experience of running Financial Maths boot camps in the classroom environment for our blue chip clients.  During that period, we have honed the exact mix of learning content and interactivity to really engage with individuals.  We take the fear out of understanding and applying financial mathematics, which really is fundamental for anyone working or hoping to work within the world of finance.” 

Mitchell adds “In developing the Financial Maths e-learning offering, we have taken the timeless elements of that classroom training and combined it with our expertise in developing highly interactive, quality e-learning to deliver a really effective intervention.  Moreover, our Financial Maths course can be combined with our existing e-learning offering on Elements of Financial Accounting to create a virtual boot camp that prepares delegates for their main financial training programmes in a highly successful and cost-efficient way.”

A number of CTG clients intend to integrate the course into their graduate training programmes this summer.  Financial Maths can be accessed via the internet, from a dedicated, client branded portal provided by CTG.  Alternatively, the course can be installed on a client company’s intranet.  The course is also available for individual purchase, on CD with a printed companion workbook and prices start from £145.00 from http://shop.ilxgroup.com/ctg/