Rod Knox, Virtual College’s Chief Executive commented, "The take up has been phenomenal and the results have been staggering. The model is built around Virtual College’s pioneering VOOC® (Vocational Open Online Courses) concept in which free bite-size courses are promoted to a targeted audience. A fast take up of this VOOC® was essential, so the ability to self-register for the courses was developed."

"The learners proceed through the course at a pace, place, and time to suit themselves and undertake an online e-assessment so that they can demonstrate good understanding of the patient-safety topic. Once the e-assessment is successfully passed, they are awarded their e-certificate. Learners can obtain CPD accreditation and are asked to complete impact evaluations, which are automatically triggered on a three and six-month timescale."

Rod stated, "We are really proud to have worked closely with NHS Diabetes to play a major part in helping to educate almost a quarter-of-a-million people in patient-safety issues, with around 10,000 new learners a month. I am sure that this action has helped to dramatically reduce errors. As a company we have always been a pioneer within the eLearning sector, and the application of our VOOC® model to patient safety has been a huge success."

In addition to the Patient Safety VOOC®, Virtual College has been working on developing its VOOC® concept further and are planning to launch a suite of ten Career VOOC®s by September 2014. These are specifically aimed at helping school children develop a better understanding of career opportunities in a number of key growth sectors.

The Career VOOC®s will provide them with guidance on the most appropriate skills and qualifications to support their career choice. Furthermore, Virtual College are planning to link this career guidance to real skill-development opportunities and job vacancies by networking with employers, training providers, awarding organisations, professional bodies, and sector skills councils.

Rod Knox proudly announced, "Virtual College is investing over £1M in its VOOC® model, and the Career VOOC® will bring career guidance into the 21st century, something that our digital natives need and I am sure will enjoy. We have already established strategic partnerships with the first two career VOOC®s, which will be piloted next month, but I am keen to hear from any organisations that would like to get involved in helping drive our other eight planned Career VOOC® topics."