A view by Steven Bentley MD of Sofema Aviation Services
At SAS we have been delivering regulatory and vocational training courses across a range of subjects and now offer approaching 200 different training courses.
These courses are designed to meet the specific needs of our potential clients and customers, in many case the courses were specifically developed at the request of our customer – this is an attestation to our flexibility, as all training material adjustment projects are undertaken at the cost of SAS.
Organisations who choose to invest in their people are rewarded with a level of competence which actively supports the growth and development of the business, however whilst training is an important element of our organisation, as with any business proposition we should endeavour to ensure the maximum return on our investment. How will we do this? The answer is quite simple! We need to manage the process using a competent manager whether this is an Individuals sole role, as in Human Resources or Training Manager, or the responsibility of a business area manager is not as important as the requirement to ensure active manage of our training needs within the organisation.
Sofema Aviation Services takes a specific view of training, we prefer to support organisations to grow their competence and wherever possible actively support the train the trainer process.
What training is available?
The following link will take you to an area where you may view the contents of all SAS Training courses. https://sassofia.com/regulatory-training-courses/  In order to decide which is the most appropriate training for our staff and colleagues we need to consider the specific needs
The first Challenge – The learning experience
Whilst learning is of course a continuous journey let’s consider it in respect of 4 levels:
Learner, Intermediate, Experienced and Expert
If we place Experts with Learners the Satisfaction of the “Expert” will diminish at the same time the “Learner” may find the going to fast paced.
How to deal with this issue (The Learning Experience)
The important thing is to discover where everyone is on the learning curve at the earliest opportunity during  the training to then use the Experts in a beneficial way to involve them and invite them to share there knowledge and experience so that the learners may benefit
However it will always remain one of the trainers challenges to maintain the most effective balance that we are able to deliver.
The Second Challenge – Duration
How long shall we make our training – (As long as possible…..If only this was true !) – A worthy answer but in fact driven by manpower and cost constraints it is not possible.
Let’s consider the duration of the Training in the following way
Essentials / Refresher / Intermediate / Full & In Depth
Essentials Training is focused on understanding the key elements at a basic level typically suited to Managers and Business Area Owners.
Refresher is aimed at people who are familiar with the subject and it is an invaluable opportunity to update as well as share knowledge and experience
Intermediate is focused on people who are upgrading their knowledge, and acknowledges a pre existing
Full & In Depth is focused on persons wishing to understand the whole subject from A to Z
How to deal with this issue – (Duration)
The important consideration here is to understand who is attending the training as quite likely there will be a mixture again this poses a challenge for the trainer, If it is at all possible it is better to try to arrange the Duration to match a common need, although often numbers preclude this from happening
How best to proceed?
Consider the previous information and we are now in a better place to develop an understanding of our training needs.
It is essential that we provide our “adults” with the most effective training. Essentially we as employees need to take the opportunity to manage the employees “learning path”
To ask ourselves:
a) How many people require training in a given subject?
b) To consider the appropriate depth of training which will best meet our needs?
c) Are we able to provide this training internally?
d) If we need external training can we minimize our costs by developing an internal competence to subsequently deliver this training?
e) Is it appropriate at this time to consider the option of training our trainers? Sofema Aviation Services offers a growing range of Train the Trainer Courses across a range of disciplines however maybe this will be a more appropriate option 2.
f) To manage the learning path of all employees is a significant undertaking which needs to be considered – do we have the resources to manage our training program? (this is an essential element if we are going to achieve success.)
We hope the above information will help you determine a decision path which will help you choose appropriate training, SAS will be pleased to support as consultants the development of an organisation wide competency management and training development program.
For additional details please email office@sassofia.com
