Hi All,

I am a Health and Safety Trainer, at the moment I deliver Manual Handling/ COSHH Awareness & IOSH Managing Safely, I have noticed more and more companies going to online courses instead of classroom based, generally due to cost, ease of access etc. Obviously I am a little biased as a trainer but I think a Manual Handling course for example with demonstrations/ activities and manual handling aids is a lot more benificial than a four hour online course. My question really is, is the role of the H & S trainer becoming redundent as I see more and more online courses claiming (and they may be right) that they meet all HSE requirements.

Let me know your views

Brendan

My view is that training in the world of H&S is a self-perpetuating money maker taking advantage of situation caused by those employers who only wish to gain compliance rather than to achieve a tangible positive difference, whether it be online or face to face. Call it a cynical viewpoint but if those who regulate, member organisations and those considered as leaders in the industry are happy to recommend e-learning for everything and anything, it all boils down to money and not much else.

There are some decent trainers out there because no one is the same and no one is equal.

I’m not sure the motive for online training is just money. We put our managers through the online IOSH Managing safely course not due to cost but having the managers away completely from the business.

Now don’t get me wrong we allow them holidays, but it was way more convenient for us and for them to work at their own pace and do the training in parts. This meant less disruption for the business and the Managers were able to pace themselves as they wished and when they wished.

I’m still unsure about the IOSH training being online, but the decision was not about money in fact I don’t think it made a lot of difference.

Interesting to see how this one goes, personally I hope there's always a place for face to face training particularly for competence based subjects such as Manual Handling or Abrasive Wheels and for other reasons Asbestos Awareness, because as an experienced trainer you can get a feel for how much the students are taking in when they are sat in front of you and you can tailor to suit individual needs. 

Luckily I deliver this internally but I'm under no illusions that if I wasn't qualified and competent to do so we'd also be using online training instead. From a cost perspective any business whose margins are being squeezed in all directions will look for the cheapest option to be "compliant" and in most cases that will be online.

The deciding factor as always will be a successful prosecution where competence against simple compliance is judged. As we all know being able to pass an online session with multiple choice questions doesn't mean you are competent. 

However you look at it, after training surveillance is also essential to make sure that the trainee's are still doing what they've been trained to do to prove that you've done everything possible to give your employees the skills required to do their job safely.

Edited by user 07 November 2024 12:01:00(UTC)  | Reason: Added info

On-line courses will eventually be found wanting in a court of law.

The "knowledge test" typically involves answering questions from short term memory, can often be repeated until passed and frequently contain a check point button that the trainee has understood and will comply before being allowed to proceed to the next section.

This latter point is reflected in web site use where very few bother reading Terms & Conditions and just check the box to state they have. It took three months for a bottle of wine to be claimed (and then it was purely by accident as someone copied content) when an offer was inserted in to T&C's.

https://www.legalcheek.com/2024/05/free-wine-hidden-in-tcs-of-former-magic-circle-lawyers-website/#:~:text=A%20former%20Magic%20Circle%20lawyer,fine%20print%20of%20his%20website.

Can an employer prove beyond reasonable doubt a remote trainee even watched the content let alone absorbed or comprehended the information being provided?

It’s worth stepping back to look at the bigger picture here.

Training, however delivered, is not the same as competence. Training is just the first step in building knowledge. When combined with hands-on experience and adequate supervision, it (hopefully) leads to true competence.

Employers are not simply required to train staff—they are required to make them competent. Where specific training needs are highlighted by legal requirements, it’s typically to ensure that the right information is provided to foster effective competence development.

Believing that training alone equates to competence is a misconception. The difference between online and face-to-face training is often the level of additional effort needed to develop and validate competence. Both approaches can be valuable and effective, but only if they’re supported by a robust competence development framework.

(It is Friday :) )

Edited by user 08 November 2024 08:19:51(UTC)  | Reason: Typo corrections