June 21, 2012
Posted by
Matt Gardner
Not-for-profit service agencies are in the best position to take advantage of online training courses. Annual training requirements, especially for people- support agencies, are required to stay current with mandated training such as First Aide, CPR, Child Care Worker Certifications, Geriatric Support requirements, food handling laws and much more.
The problem; schedules and services that go around-the-clock in order to keep people safe, are also the same schedules that make it very difficult for those same staff members who may be working those night-hours or weekend shifts, to stay on top of these requirements.
piggybank with a large gold coin being placed insideCost savings is a big motivation for these groups to discover better ways to deliver these mandated training requirements. Unfortunately the demand for direct-care workers has never been higher. Stress of earning enough to get by is always heavy, which makes taking time off even more difficult for those in need of updating direct-service training requirements.
Kitchen workers, geriatric support workers, child care workers, are all mandated to log in numbers of hours for training on a regular basis. This is why the online delivery of training makes the most sense today. Online certification training is growing exponentially as different organizations realize the cost savings when requiring these training’s to go online, away from work and at the timing leisure of those who are already handling heavy, difficult schedules.
Remote training drastically lowers travel costs, logistics costs and instructor time. Video usage has enhanced delivery for more complicated training. Online it is simpler to deliver ten training sessions over say, the four that would otherwise have been possible.
For non-profits, a sense of community is very important. Online forums for training can actually assist in the building of this community engagement. Especially for organizations that are spread out broadly in different areas. It can help bring a cohesive experience to new employees and seasoned workers alike.
Online training options gives a forum for experience to be passed along where otherwise it could not have been. This is done through chat boards, support forums, discussion boards, email and other frequent communication tools.
This much-needed flexibility is specifically designed for very busy people. Recordings of effective live training can be recorded for download around the clock, which also maximizes reach and scope for training goals. Storage of organizational documents makes availability easier than ever. Downloading capacity of resources and documents also enhances this process. Online training tools can be found for low costs, and sometimes for free.
Many times staff work in homes that are in remote areas, but have offices with computers in them. The in-house training option can open many doors for the quality non profit that is seeking to upgrade and exceed its own quality standards of excellence. Flexibility and worker convenience go a long way towards augmenting this process.
This is the age of digital excellence, and this gift is being passed along into some of our most needed and critical people-support areas in the culture. Finding ways to deliver the training needs to those who work the hardest at some of the most difficult schedules, should be the first to benefit from these advances in technology.
Support of the non-profit people-support sector of our culture is critical. Especially in an age where teachers, special education clients, traumatized children and adults with addictions are all struggling enough just to move forward. Tracking, certifying and training– support and quality control have just gotten much easier for all of us.