I forgot a new Industry Training Federation (ITF) media release this morning so I thought I’d tie it in with a post about a cool new game from the Retail Institute (an ITO).

The ITF put out a media release on Friday stating that qualifications gained at ITOs cost a quarter of as much as those gained at tertiary education providers. A background paper provides more detail. I’ve reviewed it in depth over at ED Insider- if you don’t have access to that, there’s a 14 day trial open until 30 April.

Meanwhile, the Retail Institute announced a new online tool on Friday called Service Star. You can view the trailer at the bottom right of their website. It’s an interactive game whereby people take over management of a store and test their skills along the way. I’m looking forward to seeing the full version and the Retail Institute will be running a competition in May for participants. It’s great to see some innovative use of technology and I think it will be a good way for the ITO to reach a diverse and dispersed workforce.