Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today announced that it has received a Gartner Inc. Power of the Profession Award in the category of Talent Payback of the Year, a prestigious honor that recognizes the company's innovative manufacturing and supply-chain employee training program.

The award was granted to Agilent's OFS Academy, an online portal launched by the Order Fulfillment and Supply Chain organization in 2016 to inform and engage the global OFS team. The OFS Academy differentiates due to its reach and effectiveness. Deployed across 23 sites and four continents, within the first year Agilent OFS employees had completed 2,500 classes and viewed approximately 20,000 instructional videos, with responses for satisfaction and efficiency that rival industry benchmarks.

"This is a tremendous achievement," said Henrik Ancher-Jensen, president of Agilent's Order Fulfillment and Supply Chain organization. "It speaks highly of our talented training staff, and also of our employees who accepted the challenge and are committed to continuous learning."

OFS Academy content covers a broad range of topics, including a supply-chain program that was developed in conjunction with Penn State University's Smeal College of Business. OFS Academy provides an opportunity for direct interaction with executive management and ensures that managers understand the company's OFS strategy and can communicate it to their teams. In addition, employees can take classes through Agilent's School of Continuous Improvement, as well as through the recently launched Agilent OFS School of Digital Innovation, a global program offering instruction in topics such as artificial intelligence and 3D printing. (50-second highlights video)

"Agilent has a longstanding commitment to the continued development of employees. Investment in our people helps to ensure our continued success, which translates into the success of our customers," said Lars Kristiansen, Agilent's Senior Director of OFS Strategy and Transformation.

"We know we're not going to be successful long-term if we don't invest in our people," he added. "We can talk about being leaders of digital transformation, but if we don't have the talent to get us there, then that's all it is – just talk. We're proud to be one of the award winners, but we're just getting started on our digital journey."