In aviation a conspicuous requirement among all the standards and regulations is training, Every. Single. One.
Do you claim to have a Quality and Safety culture? Show me your training program .
If there has ever been a critical time to revisit and emphasize your training program it is now.
In this article we’ll address the following:
Industry Characteristics. Executives: We need to talk . Types of Training. Required Training Recurrent Training Remedial Training Industry Characteristics. Consider these following current characteristics of our industry:
High rates of turnover among staff. New employees in important positions performing their tasks for the first time. Staff shortages lead to employees being cross utilized into positions they have no experience in. Employees new to aviation. Retirements. Executives: We need to talk (don’t you hate it when an exchange starts out with that characterization? This will be one of those ). I’ve noticed a troubling trend among executives; they don’t attend their company’s training sessions. Let me share a few stories:
I’ll have a training session at a client’s place of business and afterwards employees tell me privately (while pointing their accusatory index finger in the direction of the executive offices) that ‘they’ should have been in the class to hear the subject matter. I noticed early in my career after I had received a nice promotion, that I would get the firm’s invitations to attend training classes. I was new and young and determined to learn all I could. In those classes the absence of anyone in management at my level or above was, to me, conspicuous. The instructors told me on more than a few occasions that they appreciated my participation and that it sent a positive message to the rank and file. Some of the union members would also share their observation that they respected this, and further that they thought the non-attending management staff thought of themselves as ‘too good’ and self-important to attend training sessions with the employees. I have never forgotten this lesson, and yes, I did learn from attending those classes. Recently a client, among the many whose firm was shaken up by the AOG Technics case, asked that I come and speak to the staff about the lessons learned and impart a training session on the same topic. It was the CEO who called me. While I was in the process of setting up the date with his staff assistant, I learned that the CEO, and some of his executive staff ‘would not be able to attend.’ I called the CEO and politely shared that if he and his executives did not attend, neither would I. After a pregnant pause, he agreed and set up the mandatory session. Before the class I asked that at the end he share with the staff his feelings on the subject matter, the expectations of the company, and any ensuing policy. This went very well and afterwards the CEO thanked me for pushing this. As an auditor of various standards, I notice when members of the executive staff have chosen to be on the required Roster. Anyone on the Roster can be sampled for training records, and many times it’s disappointing to notice that, while the documented training for these executives may be compliant, it may have been years since any additional training of any kind has been documented. Often, unsurprisingly, if called upon to perform the duties they are authorized on the Roster to perform, the results are less than compliant with their own written procedures. For sure no one is suggesting that your executives take introductory classes such as those for new employees, but some course material is more relevant and of importance to the broader staff. Go
Types of Training:
Required Training : This is simply training that is required by your regulators, accreditation standard, or by your own choice. Depending on the scope of your operations, such topics may include Unapproved and Counterfeit Parts, HAZMAT, Human Factors, Forklift and other machinery, ESD, FOD (Foreign Object Damage) Prevention, Lockout/Tagout, Fall Protection, Confined Space, and Use of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) among many others, Recurrent Training : This is training which must be performed at specified intervals for the employee to remain qualified, or topics which the firm feels are important enough to warrant repeated training, including refreshers. For example, HAZMAT, Human Factors, and Forklift training are required periodically as are others. On the other hand, your firm may decide, for example, that SUPs and Counterfeit Parts need to be updated and imparted annually or biannually. Remedial Training . Typically, this is imparted to an individual employee or department due to some event or need. The event may be an accident that occurred, a finding of non-compliance during an audit, or simply refresher training due to an employee not having performed a function for some time. Methods to Deliver Training:
Classroom: This is the typical training with an instructor addressing a class OJT : On the Job Training. This is classically over-the-shoulder training whereby a supervisor or experienced colleague is showing you, or leading you through the task, and is usually one-on-one. This is very effective as it allows the trainee to ask questions in a casual setting and for the trainer to gauge the trainee’s progress and effectiveness - did the trainee grasp it? The problem I observe with OJT is that it is not always consistently documented as are the other types of training. LMS : Learning Management System. An LMS is a software tool that allows you to create, deliver, and report on training courses and programs. There are many LMSs to choose from, each offering different features and capabilities. The LMS may be the product of a company internal system, or you may rely on the LMS services of an external provider, or a hybrid program. Zoom or MS Teams Live Sessions . Many of you have employees performing their duties remotely in geographically diverse locations. It is understood that it is impractical to fly them in for every classroom event, so a remote session may be set up for those employees. My experience with this type of impartation method is that unless it is for one-on-one OJT type training with screen sharing for example, it is the least effective . I have had Zoom or Teams sessions where the attendees were obviously multi-tasking or not in attendance. I’ll call their name and ask a question about the topic and their response is an embarrassing excuse that they were ‘distracted’ during this part of the class. In some cases, the attendee will not respond at all. Later I’ll try them again in case they were in the restroom. After a third attempt with no response, I won’t sign for them on the training listing. Wait, wait, was that an Executive I just took off the list? Nah, couldn’t be.
The Science of Training:
Immersive Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, LMS, and Learning Analytics are among the many buzzwords trainers are today embracing to make learning more effective and useful. While it is certainly beyond the scope of this article to discuss these, the point is made that the methods to impart effective training are evolving and so should your analysis of the quality of training in your own operation.
Over ‘n out
Roy ‘Royboy’ Resto
www.AimSolutionsConsulting.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/royresto/
This article was written without the use of AI generated content.
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