Bentley Systems, Incorporated today inaugurated Bentley LEARN, a revolutionary subscription program that empowers infrastructure firms to become and remain well-trained organizations - improving their competitiveness and advancing the careers of infrastructure professionals.

Bentley LEARN provides unlimited OnDemand eLearning for a fixed annual fee. Courses include lectures, hands-on courses, and feature clips from Bentley Institute. The combination of features that makes this program revolutionary includes:

-- The learning is OnDemand, so it fits into busy schedules.

-- The learning is on every desk, so no travel is required.

-- The OnDemand content is the broadest in infrastructure, covering the use and administration of MicroStation, ProjectWise, and the company's comprehensive portfolio of building, civil, geospatial, and plant solutions.

-- The price for all of this is eminently affordable - set at 20 percent of the organization's SELECT fee, or about an hour of a professional's billable time for a year's worth of learning.

As Maureen Pomeroy, director, Bentley Institute, explained, "With our new Bentley LEARN program, organizations will realize an unprecedented return on their investment in training - from improved productivity as well as new business generated by higher quality work and enhanced organizational resumes."

To measure progress, those taking OnDemand eLearning courses are credited with Bentley Learning Units (LUs). "The LUs are like currency in career and organizational development," said Pomeroy. "Plus, the value of these LUs extends to other professional continuing education programs, as relevant credits can be applied to programs for AIA, IACET, CPD, and more."

For infrastructure professionals, LUs mean they can now mark their progress in keeping current on the latest technology and most productive practices. This capability allows them to better communicate their increasing value to their organizations and to secure more project assignments that advance their careers.

For infrastructure organizations, the combination of LUs and online tracking of credentials means they now have access to a powerful new staffing and organizational development tool. This tool allows them to win more business by better communicating organizational qualifications and to operate more profitably by assuring optimal staffing of new projects.

Bentley LEARN Server provides the online tracking of credentials, as well as access to OnDemand eLearning courses, course descriptions, feature clips, online transcripts, advanced course searches, and online registration.

Bentley LEARN courses number in the hundreds and include:

-- Hands-on courses and a lecture series for MicroStation V8 XM Edition

-- ProjectWise V8 XM Edition Administrator hands-on course

-- Bentley InRoads lecture series

-- Bentley AutoPLANT 3D series of hands-on courses

-- Introductory courses on Bentley Building Electrical Systems and Bentley Building Mechanical Systems

-- Additional MicroStation and ProjectWise series, plus courses in the subject matter areas of visualization and programming

"We understand that evolving technology and growing competitive pressures will accelerate demand for architectural, engineering, and construction professional training," said Pomeroy. "We intend to expand our offering and consistently meet this demand with a set of courses as broad and specialized as our users require - delivered as conveniently and cost effectively as possible using state-of-the-art technology."

Bridging the Gap

CEO Greg Bentley expects Bentley LEARN to have a significant impact on the infrastructure community. He said, "A major bottleneck for infrastructure progress is the well-recognized shortage of trained engineering professionals in every region of the world. The only way to overcome this problem in the short and intermediate term is to institutionalize learning and investment in training, which is why Bentley LEARN is our most significant program introduction since our launch of Bentley SELECT in 1995.

"What I find particularly impressive and gratifying is that Bentley LEARN allows every single one of our more than 2000 colleagues to contribute - to share their critical knowledge and experience with this community."

Pricing and Availability

Given all the benefits it provides, the Bentley LEARN program yields an extremely high return on an organization's investment in training. The list price is calculated at 20 percent of the organization's annual SELECT fee, and as a subscription program offering unlimited learning, administration costs are kept to a minimum.

Bentley LEARN is now available globally to all Bentley SELECT subscribers. Regional portals are available for the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Ireland, and others will be added in the months ahead.

For more information on Bentley LEARN, go to www.bentley.com/learn.

In addition to Bentley LEARN, Bentley Institute also provides instructor-led courses at Bentley facilities, on-site at office locations, and via the Internet through distance learning. For more information on Bentley Institute training, go to www.bentley.com/training.

About Bentley

Bentley Systems, Incorporated provides software for the lifecycle of the world's infrastructure. The company's comprehensive portfolio for the building, plant, civil, and geospatial verticals spans architecture, engineering, construction (AEC) and operations. With 2005 revenues of $336 million and more than 2000 colleagues around the world, Bentley is the leading provider of AEC software to the Engineering News-Record Top 500 Design Firms and major owner-operators and was named the world's No. 2 provider of GIS/geospatial software solutions in a recent Daratech research study.

To receive Bentley press releases as they are issued, visit www.bentley.com/bentleywire. For more information, visit www.bentley.com. To view a copy of Bentley's May 2006 Annual Report online, go to www.bentley.com/annualreport.

Bentley, the "B" logo, Bentley LEARN, Bentley SELECT, OnDemand eLearning, Bentley LEARN Server, MicroStation V8 XM Edition, ProjectWise V8 XM Edition, InRoads, AutoPLANT, Bentley Building Electrical Systems, Bentley Building Mechanical Systems, and Bentley Institute are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

For further information: Bentley Systems, Incorporated Press Contact: Ron Kuhfeld, 610-321-6493 ron.kuhfeld@bentley.com

Source: newswire