Let’s Get Personal: The Return to In-Person Training
In response to the challenges brought on by Covid, our team quickly transitioned our training from in-person classes to virtual delivery. As we anticipate the return to live, in-person courses, TVIB believes it is important to think about what we have done over the past three years.
In 2020 we pivoted overnight and (along with our students) learned to embrace virtual training. We worked to deliver an interactive, content-rich and engaging learning experience for our students and continued to develop new material and modules for our classes. We were driven to fulfill our mandate to provide the industry’s best training and are proud to say that, thanks to our students and staff, our classes continued non-stop throughout the pandemic.
As we return to the classroom, it’s important to remember the advantages of face-to-face learning:
- In-person training fosters discussions, collaboration and feedback, and promotes active participation and engagement. An environment dedicated solely to learning limits distraction and encourages active engagement.
- The energy of face-to-face interactions creates an atmosphere that encourages teamwork, peer support, and a sense of community among participants. It is hard to overstate the value of asking someone a question directly vs. sending a chat message.
- In-person training enables trainers to gauge learners’ understanding, tailor their approach and create a tailored learning experience. Non-verbal cues (a look of disinterest, fidgeting, etc.) from students are signs an instructor might want to change course, and these are difficult to interpret in a virtual classroom.
- In-person training environments provide opportunities for networking. Networking is one of the most valuable things to come from in-person training, but it is nearly impossible to do in a virtual classroom setting. Professional opportunities that might have organically arisen from conversation are lost.
- Face-to-face training allows students to receive immediate support, addressing learners’ questions in real-time.
We look forward to returning to face-to-face instruction: TVIB believes that in-person training is a valuable option, and the ability to form connections and network with like-minded professionals presents advantages that go well beyond instruction. We will continue to assess the training needs of our customers and, as THE TPO YOU KNOW AND TRUST, we welcome your feedback as we transition back to in-person instruction.
Please welcome Jason Stacy as the new Training Coordinator. In this role, Jason will lead the development of training opportunities for staff, TVIB members, and members of the public using learning tools such as online and in-person training, webinars, podcasts, and a cloud-based learning management system (LMS). He will be collaborating with subject matter experts (SME) such as staff, our members, and U.S. Coast Guard personnel on the development of program materials. Jason will be working directly with the Member Services Manager to ensure TVIB continues to deliver best-in-class industry training. He will also be working with the Professional Standards Committee (PSC) to develop the tools necessary to assess auditor and surveyor performance and develop curriculum to meet their needs.