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DIP YOUR TOES ONLINE TRAINING • DAN LEE, ONE VERY SATISFIED CUSTOMER, EXTOLS THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUES OF A NEW APPROACH OFFERED BY DANGEROUS GOODS ONLINE TRAINING THE FUTURE IS HERE! I prostrate myself on the altar of forgiveness for daring once to say that e-learning will never replace the skill of a trainer in a classroom environment. There now exists an online e-learning programme of such power and effectiveness that we need never have to endure another gut-wrenchingly boring delivery of IATA Dangerous Goods by Air as we sit through two days of a refresher or re-do three days for an expired initial course. The future is, as I said, already here and it brings with it these benefits: • It’s cheaper than a standard instructor-led course and there are no travel or
accommodation fees to add • You learn at your own pace – as slowly or as quickly as the program will let you • Direct feedback lets you know if you have correctly understood and thus correctly applied the learning within each module • Access to a book of knowledgeconfirmation exercises and further explanation of key points • Doing the end-of-course examination in the comfort of your own home • Receiving detailed written feedback on what you answered incorrectly or incompletely. Those who know me will attest that I am not a big fan of International Air Transport
Association (IATA) training; this stems from my days working for what was at the time the world’s largest airline and attending various DG by Air training courses delivered by a wide range of training providers who all had one thing in common: strict adherence to the boring IATA process where the content is delivered by an instructor. MAKE THE CHANGE When I left the airline world I reduced my exposure to the biannual tedium of IATA DG by Air training to once every five years, just to keep my hand-in and to maintain my sanity. I am a firm believer that a DGSA or DG professional must learn more than just the road element of their craft. The UK is an island nation and both the sea and air modes of transport are vital elements to get dangerous goods items away from our shores. I used to resent having to take three days of unpaid leave (I am self-employed) and sit through a course that was akin to being slowly bludgeoned to death by a manual with blue and yellow pages, so it was out of a mixture of curiosity and necessity that I embarked on the new method of IATA DG by Air delivery offered by Paul Horner and his team at Dangerous Goods Online Training. My curiosity came through various experiences and exposure to e-learning from my time as a police law trainer back in the 1990s and in airlines and freight forwarders during the 2000s. My necessity was due to a client requesting an ‘in-date’ IATA DG by Air certificate. Covid-19 restrictions on both travel and attendance for one of the few DG by Air courses being delivered around the country also had a bearing on my decision to take the plunge and immerse myself with the online process. I do not want readers to think that I curried favour by asking for a discount to undertake the
SHIPPING DANGEROUS GOODS BY AIR IS A COMPLEX BUSINESS AND EFFECTIVE TRAINING IS VITAL TO PREVENTING MISTAKES AND ACCIDENTS
HCB MONTHLY | JANUARY 2022
