TRAINING
Delivering essential training in a digital landscape Water industry training programmes have had to undergo a transformation to ensure essential learning continues during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Dr Jo Burgess, head of the South African business at Isle, shares insights into delivering effective virtual training.
Dr Jo Burgess, South African business head at Isle
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Isle moved quickly to create a virtual training programme as the pandemic began to unfold globally. What made this a priority? JB As the Covid-19 crisis has proved, there is no industry more critical to public health and the global economy than water supply and wastewater treatment. Underpinning it are highly skilled specialists, who are duty-bound to maintain in-depth knowledge of legislation and complex technical standards around the supply of water, treatment of wastewater and protection of the environment. With fast-changing travel restrictions and shifting provincial lockdowns likely to make in-person training difficult, if not impossible, for some time, we recognised early on that a complete switch to digital training was necessary and created more than 30 new courses tailored specifically for a virtual audience. What benefits to virtual training have you discovered? The benefits are wide reaching. In developing its Programme for Water Professionals, Isle’s training team has
built an e-classroom that has already reached clients in South Africa and the UK – all while lead trainer Mandhy Senewiratne was in Australia. This ability to overcome travel disruption and connect people located in different countries is just one benefit. With many teams still working remotely, it also provides an opportunity to engage with employees, making them feel less isolated and ensuring they continue to feel valued, while maintaining teamwork and camaraderie. The transition has also given us a fresh opportunity to update course content, providing a new, Covid-19-altered perspective on key industry areas, where relevant. It has been a chance to take stock of all the courses we offer, ensuring they are relevant to today’s sector, which is undergoing a transformation. The need for professional scientists and engineers to earn CPD points and maintain their registrations with professional bodies such as SACNASP, ECSA and WISA has not disappeared, and e-classrooms are an excellent way to keep up to date and stay safe at the same time.
