etudes

What etudes is

etudes (エチュード) is a cloud-based e-learning system for running employee training, offered by Alue Co., Ltd. (アルー株式会社), a talent development company. The homepage describes it as "良質な教材コンテンツと研修運用に必要なLMS機能を備えたクラウド型eラーニングシステム" (a cloud e-learning system that combines quality learning content with the LMS functions needed to run training). It is written for HR and training departments that have to register learners, assign courses, run classroom sessions and prove completion, and that would rather not build every course themselves.

The site sets etudes against what it calls a typical LMS. A typical LMS supplies the system only, expects you to prepare your own materials, centers on e-learning and focuses on admin functions. etudes says it supplies "システム ＋ 教材 ＋ 集合研修 ＋ 個社別制作" (system plus learning materials plus classroom training plus company-specific production), links e-learning with in-person training, and aims to improve the quality of development as well as admin efficiency. The homepage reports 650+ companies using it (導入企業数 650 社以上).

The LMS

The homepage lists six standard functions, covering both administrators and learners. The learner management function organizes people by department, job level and target group. Course and material management lets you combine off-the-shelf and in-house materials into training courses. Progress and history management shows completion status, who has not yet taken a course, and learning history. Tests and surveys check understanding and collect post-course feedback. Report output exports learning data for improving development programs. Classroom training management handles pre-learning, the classroom session and post-learning as one flow.

Alue's article on choosing an LMS adds detail about etudes itself. It supports many material formats, including video, tests, surveys, classroom training management and assignment submission management, and records learning history "1秒単位で" (to the second). It offers 14 types of administrator permission settings and works across devices, which the article says makes it flexible for large organizations. The same article says there is no limit on the number of accounts registered or on the volume of materials you can upload.

On usability, the article describes a panel-style interface for finding courses, real-time reflection of learner progress for administrators, and test and survey questions that can be created in the browser. Existing in-house materials can be uploaded too: the FAQ says you can upload videos, PDFs, PowerPoint files and other training materials you already own and use them as e-learning.

Learning content

Content is the main thing etudes adds to a plain LMS. The homepage groups its materials by level and theme. For new hires and junior staff there is business etiquette, how to approach work and basic skills. For mid-level employees there is problem solving, leadership and project management. For managers there is management, evaluator training and 1on1 meetings. For all employees there is compliance, harassment and information security. The article says the materials can follow the "アルーコンピテンシーマップ" (Alue Competency Map), a framework Alue designed itself.

For companies with no e-learning materials of their own, the article points to the etudes Plus plan, which comes with a wide range of materials preset in the system at a fixed monthly fee, so employees can freely choose what to study. The site menu also lists an unlimited-access service (受け放題サービス), an e-learning materials catalog, etudes Basket, etudes Classroom and a service for raising course completion rates.

When the catalog does not fit, Alue produces original content. The FAQ names this service alue e-craft, and the homepage lists the kinds of material it makes: explaining your own rules such as work regulations and evaluation systems, sharing key procedures and know-how on video and in text, spreading your corporate philosophy and code of conduct, and building sales and service skills through role plays and case examples.

Blended learning

etudes is built to connect e-learning with classroom training. The homepage lays out four steps: e-learning for basic input before the session, classroom training for practice and dialogue, review materials afterward to make learning stick, and management and analysis to measure results and keep improving. The FAQ confirms you can use it for pre- and post-learning, for running classroom training and for bringing all attendance logs into one place.

Selling courses with etudes

A second site, etudes Biz-Platform, presents the same LMS as a platform for companies that want to sell e-learning. Alue's article there says etudes can link an application form and a payment page so that, once a learner pays, a dedicated user page is created and the course assigned automatically; this flow is an option. It describes the pricing for business use as "初期費用・販売手数料0円" (no initial fee and no sales commission), billed only on active IDs.

Customer examples come from this side of the business. Nikkei BP (日経BP) uses etudes to run an external e-learning business built on its archive of seminars and talks by well-known executives, aimed at senior managers and adding about 5 pieces of content a month. HUG, a joint venture of Hakuhodo (博報堂) and U-CAN (ユーキャン), a large correspondence education provider for working adults, uses etudes as the reskilling platform in a service that combines reskilling with job-search support. On internal training, Mitsukoshi Isetan Human Solutions (三越伊勢丹ヒューマン・ソリューションズ) used etudes to systematize attendance management and document distribution for more than 500 trainings a year for 20,000 employees.

Pricing, rollout and security

The homepage gives a starting price of 月額 30,000円〜 (from 30,000 yen a month). The cost is made up of an LMS usage fee, a content usage fee, classroom training costs, custom content production by Alue, and initial setup and implementation support, and the page says the price varies with scale, features, content and training. The FAQ says pricing depends on the plan and the number of active IDs. Alue's articles describe no initial cost, billing only for active IDs and contracts from one month at a time.

The FAQ says you can start from 1 user (1 ID) and scale to companies with thousands or tens of thousands of users, and that you can start using etudes in as little as 10 business days after applying. The rollout runs through five steps: materials or inquiry, a hearing, a proposal, initial setup and launch.

On security, the Biz-Platform article says etudes runs on Microsoft Azure PaaS and undergoes regular vulnerability assessments by outside organizations. Material downloads and consultations are free, and the site lists implementation and usage support and seminars.

Who it suits

etudes suits companies that want an LMS and ready-made, level-based training content from one supplier, together with help running classroom sessions and producing courses about their own rules and know-how. HR teams running new-hire, management, compliance and multi-site or multi-store training get a catalog organized by job level plus the admin functions to assign and track it, and the per-ID pricing with no initial fee lets a single department start small. Companies that want to sell their expertise as e-learning can use the Biz-Platform version.

It suits less well a team outside the Japanese-speaking world, since the site, materials and support are in Japanese, or a team that only wants a bare course host and will never use the content library or Alue's services.