They may include such parties as labor, educational institutions, job training organizations, economic development agencies, or community organizations. Even in learning consortia with broadened memberships, though, the cornerstone of the consortia remains making member companies more competitive. Most learning consortia undertake both workforce and workplace development efforts. Members of learning consortia engage in cooperative learning, or learning from each other. In learning consortia, the interaction of the members is key.
Firms share knowledge and work together to build their productivity and competitiveness.
In a learning consortium, members engage in an ongoing process that provides both firms and any organizations working with them an opportunity to be more reflective about where they are trying to go and what might be the best strategies for getting there. While the key feature of learning consortia is cooperative learning, most learning consortia also engage in collective learning, or training. Consortium members will come together to jointly develop, purchase, or share training, thus reducing the costs of training to any one firm. In these training efforts, the locus of control and power rests with the consortium, not the training providers. Members define their training needs and learning objectives and seek providers willing to meet their specifications.