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The greatest risk facing compulsory training programmes which lead to certificates or licences being issued is that of invalid certification.

There are some obvious things to look out for including:

  • Trainers who are not up to the job – this shows itself in a variety of ways such as poor lesson planning, monotonous delivery and low levels of learner engagement.
  • Inadequate quality assurance – classic symptoms are the absence of teaching standards, an inability to demonstrate that learning outcomes are being achieved and a general lack of transparency around consistency, evaluation and feedback.
  • Bad management – inefficient training administration and poor customer service kill learner enthusiasm and send the wrong messages to staff.
  • Fraud – fake licences are still a problem in some industries, so is cheating by learners and training organisations.
  • Bad attitudes in the workplace – if staff consider the training a punishment rather than a reward, if line managers are reluctant to schedule people for it, if it is generally considered a hoop to jump through rather than an opportunity to learn and develop … then you know it isn’t working.

Countering these and other potential causes requires a structured approach. Key start points are a syllabus designed around explicit learning outcomes, trainers trained to achieve these using  wide variety of techniques, course design which encourage participation and caters for people with different learning styles, evaluation and feedback at all levels, risk based monitoring and inspection of delivery and service levels to drive continuous improvement.

CAS provides independent quality assurance and inspection of training and licensing programmes, especially those aimed at people carrying out safety critical activities.  Reducing risk and driving improvements are our core business. Contact Bobbie Groves for a confidential discussion of how we can help your organisation do this.