Train the Trainer
Paul Golden explores the range of ‘Train the Trainer’ qualifications available in their market, including IITD’s new BBS in Training, Development and Consulting
The desire to impart knowledge may be considered a vocation rather than a profession but to get ahead in their chosen field; trainers need some formal recognition of their skills as well as demonstrable knowledge and/or experience of their specific sectors.
The Irish Institute of Training & Development (IITD) has identified a need for a career ladder for trainers in Ireland and recognises that any training undertaken must be properly accredited and nationally recognised. To this end, it has been working with the National College of Ireland [NCI] in the development of a Bachelor of Business in Training, Development and Consulting.
The IITD/NCI programme aims to look at the training and development function in a business context, enabling participants to operate more effectively through becoming more aware of business processes and systems and the capacity of an appropriate training intervention to provide solutions to address a range of issues.
The IITD Director, Sinead Heneghan, confirmed that her organisation was working towards a start date for the programme in late 2007 and it is anticipated that the programme will be delivered part-time over a three-year period. “We are optimistic that the programme will receive HETAC accreditation in April and will be launched in the autumn”, she said.
If approved, the award will be the Bachelor of Business [BBS] in Training, Development and Consulting (Level 7 National Qualification Framework) and will accrue ACCS credits. The programme will allow progression to level 8 qualifications on the NQF. While the location for the programme will initially be the National College of Ireland’s IFSC campus, in north inner city Dublin, NCI has the ability to roll it out to other locations if the market demands.
At a less rarefied level, Optimum Results’ ‘Train the Trainer’ course is designed for those who have recently been introduced into a training role within an organisation. “Many of the participants are training in an ad hoc fashion,” explained Elaine Mulligan, programme manager. “We aim to give them some structure to their training, to show them how to design a training module.”
She describes the three-day programme as a “very hands on and practical” course that gives participants an understanding of how to best impart information, design a training module or course, deliver their training in a systematic way and evaluate their effectiveness.
“This is not a formal qualification like the FÁS training programmes – we developed the course content based on what we saw were the needs of industry. Participants come from across all industry sectors and leave with increased confidence in their ability to deliver effective training.”
However, Optimum Results did bring the programme to the attention of the ILM (Institute of Leadership and Management, the management division of City & Guilds) which has since approved it. Those who complete the course now receive an endorsed ‘train the trainer’ award from the ILM.
Mulligan estimates that, each year, around 150 people take the course, which is delivered one day a week over a three-week period. The programme can be adapted to specific sectors and can be delivered on site when required. Groups are kept to a maximum of 10 because of the high level of practical work involved.
Feedback from course participants has encouraged the company to design a more advanced skills programme that will further enhance participant skills and explore the training process in greater depth than the three-day introductory sessions. This new programme will be introduced this summer and again, participants will be given plenty of opportunity to test their skills.
“Many trainers are unaware of whether they are doing their job well or not,” concluded Mulligan. “This programme allows them to benchmark what they are doing.”
National Vocational Qualifications are the incentive for participants on the courses run by FLI Group. The company runs two units of the City & Guilds Level 3 NVQ in Learning & Development and candidates who complete either of these units receive a Certificate of Unit Credit towards the City & Guilds Level 3 NVQ in Learning & Development. These units are Enable Learning Through Demonstrations & Instruction (Train The Trainer L10) and Enable Learning Through Demonstrations & Instruction (On-The-Job Instructor Training - L11).
“There is a very strong demand for train the trainer courses in regulated industries such as pharmaceutical, chemical and medical devices,” said Zoe Kelly, training co-coordinator. “In auditing these industries, regulatory bodies like the FDA and the IMB focus on the effectiveness of the training processes and on the completeness of associated documentation. A competence-based approach is the way to ensure this. Training, assessing and accrediting trainers and instructors to the NVQ Learning & Development standards not only meets the industries’ business needs, but also provides a basis for validating the effectiveness of their training.”
Candidates on the FLI Group ‘Train the Trainer’ course generally have little or no experience, while those who take the On-the-Job Instructor course would have varying levels of experience. “Learning from an experienced worker used to be the norm in organisations,” explained Kelly. “In today’s competitive environment, organisations realise they cannot afford to rely solely upon this type of unsystematic training. Candidates on this unit vary from those who are highly experienced in their occupation but who have never been trained as trainers to those who are newly competent in their occupation.”
She describes overall feedback for these courses as ‘excellent’ and refers to comments such as those from John Kenny, training and development manager at Schering-Plough (Avondale), who said the standard of instruction was very high and the quality of the course material among the best he had ever seen. “Candidates are generally very enthusiastic when it comes to evaluating the course, with over 90 percent of evaluation sheets reporting full marks in the overall appraisal of the courses.
” With competency in their particular occupational discipline no longer sufficient for in-house trainers and instructors, Zoe Kelly expects interest in train the trainer courses to increase. “These staff must possess the competencies of a trainer or instructor, in order to ensure that the transfer of learning to the trainees is complete. We ensure that the candidate trainers and instructors receive the background knowledge and practical coaching to enable them to satisfy the performance standards that have been expertly set for each competency.”
As a result of this approach, FLI Group claims trainers and instructors will have the knowledge and skills they require to consistently design and deliver classroom training and on-job instruction of the required standard. “They will also have the confidence engendered by having a recognised qualification in training or instruction,” she added.
Case Study
Sinead Marren has been Group Training Manager for Green Isle since May 2004. Her job places her in charge of the professional development of some 1550 staff.
“I started working in a local company in the early 1990s and worked my way up to team leader, at which point it was suggested that I take a training course,” she recalled. “I completed the IITD certificate in 1996 but felt it was not quite enough, so I started the diploma in 1998. That course (delivered over 18 months) enabled me to secure the role of Continuous Improvement & Training Manager.”
At the same time, Sinead got involved with the activities of the IITD at local and national level. She was advised to go forward and take the masters, which she did through the University of Sheffield, coming out with a Masters in Human Resource Management. After graduating, she went into training consultancy for three years before taking her current role with Green Isle.
“It was well worth all the work, both on a personal level and a professional level as I feel the companies I have worked for have also benefited,” she explained. “The qualifications have given me an understanding of other industries and help me to benchmark what I am doing against other organisations.”
“It has also given me access to a massive network of people I can talk to or ask for further contacts,” said Sinead, who confirmed that employers are increasingly insisting on formal qualifications for their training staff.
