“For organisations managing large teams or multiple sites, the ability to centralise training, track completion and scale learning quickly can be a significant operational advantage. The ECITB’s LXP is an effective way to enhance workforce capability while supporting a more flexible and engaging learning culture.”
That’s the view of Suzanne Dickson, Head of HR at Altrad Sparrows, which is a global provider of specialist engineering, inspection, operations and maintenance services to offshore energy, renewables and industrial sectors.
Following a soft launch to some of its technical teams, the company rolled out the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board’s (ECITB) e-learning portal – the Learning Experience Platform (LXP) – to the wider business in August 2024.
Since then, around 750 of Altrad Sparrows’ UK workforce have benefited from using the platform via its Altrad Academy for a mix of mandatory and personal development courses.
It has also built requirements into its onboarding process to ensure that new joiners have access to the platform from the start of their journey with the company, with mandatory learning part of their induction.
Suzanne manages and supports the rollout of mandatory LXP training modules to Altrad Sparrows’ UK workers and says that from the outset, it recognised the value the LXP could bring through its “breadth of learning content”.
“The platform offers an extensive catalogue of modules covering everything from technical training to leadership development,” she said.
“In addition to supporting our competence requirements, the LXP has enabled us to make essential business skills such as Microsoft applications readily accessible to learners.
“The LXP has delivered several significant organisational benefits. It has enabled us to streamline and standardise training across the business, ensuring that all employees receive consistent, high‑quality learning aligned with our compliance and competency requirements.
“The platform also allows us to easily create and add our own learning content which is bespoke to our technical requirements.
“Beyond the content itself, the LXP helps give employees greater ownership of their learning and the flexibility to access training when it best suits their schedules. Employees can select and complete training at their own pace, which has helped foster a more flexible, agile and self‑directed learning culture across the organisation.
“From a strategic perspective, the LXP has improved visibility of learning activity through centralised reporting, allowing us to track completion rates and identify skills gaps.”
Pictured: Technicians like this at Altrad Sparrows are benefitting from using the ECITB LXP.
Accessibility a ‘key strength’ of LXP
After a successful pilot programme, the LXP was officially launched in January 2023 to provide more than 8,500 free online courses to in-scope ECITB employers within the engineering construction industry (ECI).
After 10,089 courses were completed by 6,148 different users in its first year, the e-learning platform surpassed these figures in less than four months in 2024.
In total, 45,667 courses were completed by 23,160 users in 2024. This growth continued in 2025 with 59,000 online course completions from 28,503 unique users.
Since its launch, the LXP has helped to provide better access to training for all parts of the industry. Smaller companies, who have less capacity to manage their own online learning system, are able to join the ECITB Learn Academy and access content.
For employers who already have their own established learning management system, e-learning files are transferred, while companies with administrative resources can create their own online learning environment with a branded academy, such as the Altrad Academy.
The LXP, which is accessible from any device, provides access to a wide range of resources, such as e-learning packages, video courses, webinars, podcasts and e-books. It allows people to learn at their own pace.
Other benefits include being able to create a personalised experience for each user, providing analytics that enable learners to track their progress and employers to measure the impact of the training being undertaken by its employees.
Altrad Sparrows, for example, has primarily used the platform to deliver training modules that support the organisation in meeting its legislative and compliance obligations.
As a result, the most frequently accessed courses have been those related to health and safety, cyber security and key HR topics.
“These areas naturally attract high engagement due to mandatory requirements, but they also address critical risks and responsibilities across the business, making them essential for all employees,” added Suzanne.
“One of the key strengths of the LXP is its overall accessibility. The platform is intuitive, user‑friendly and easily navigable for all members of our workforce, regardless of their technical confidence.
“Its clean design and straightforward functionality make it simple for employees to find, access and complete the learning they need, which has helped encourage consistent engagement across the organisation.
“Employees appreciate the platform’s ease of use and the flexibility it offers, particularly the ability to complete training at a time and pace that suits their workload.”
Pictured above: An Altrad Sparrows employee using the ECITB’s LXP via its Altrad academy.
