www.greenmediaonline.com Business Planning Guide November 2014 27
setting. This should be done in a methodical fashion, with each
step of the technique being emphasized and demonstrated as
slowly as possible, encouraging questions from the participants.
This process reemphasizes to the students the "how and why"
while also showing that the technique can be done in a field
setting. The demonstration component gives the participants
the opportunity to see first hand the topic being taught; and also
the physical actions or body mechanics that carry it out.
Practice is when the students themselves get to work on the
technique or topic to familiarize themselves with it; and is carried
out under the supervision/observation of the trainer. This allows
each student to "feel" and learn how the technique works, and
also receive individual instruction or feedback from the trainer.
This component should have a low enough instructor/trainer-
to-student ratio that all students can be readily observed and
monitored for not only effective learning, but also for safety.
Reevaluation
Once the training program is built and being carried out,
the work is not yet done. In fact, a good training program is
constantly being refined and redeveloped to reflect new tools,
techniques, and methods. Along with this refinement comes the
need for reevaluation, both of the program and its participants.
Any training program needs to have a regular reevaluation of its
participants (i.e., a testing component). Obviously, participants
will be checked/tested upon completing the training to assure
that they have absorbed and integrated the material, but, as
time passes, they will need to be reevaluated to assure that key
components have not "fallen by the wayside" in their day-to-day
work world.
Building a training program is not a simple undertaking;
and may at first glance appear daunting to company owners and
leadership who wish to implement one. But the reality is that
there are a large number of resources available to assist — from
both professional tree care organizations and arborist-specific
training companies. The journey to a fully functioning training
program will be a long one, but, as with all journeys, it starts with
that first determined step. And the end of this journey will be
greater efficiency, fewer accidents, and saved lives.
■
Michael "House" Tain is a contract climber, splicer, educator
and writer associated with North American Training Solutions
www.northamericantrainingsolutions.com and Arbor Canada
Training and Education www.arborcanada.com. He is currently
located in Lancaster, Ky., and can be reached via e-mail at house@
houseoftain.com.
