Even an excellent Environmental Management System won’t be effective if the people operating it, are not well trained. The training should include both the technical requirements of protecting the environment and an understanding of the legislative and community pressures that businesses face in protecting the environment.
Training can take many forms:
- Lectures and seminars on the work site or in the office, usually supported by a PowerPoint presentation
- Videos, either made from the PowerPoint or more elaborate,
- Demonstrations and question and answer sessions,
- one-on-one or one-on-small group discussions
- A combination of two or more of these techniques
The goal of any of these methods is to get information into the heads of the workers in such a way that they remember it and they understand that it is important to remember it.
Training Rule 1 is very well known and well understood. Know your audience. The best way to connect with anybody is to communicate with them on their level. Make references to things they are familiar with. Use projects that their company has built in the examples.
Training Rule 2 is less well known and unfortunately often neglected. Get a push from the Boss. Almost all training is viewed with scepticism by the workers being trained. Without a push from the boss minds often wander and enthusiasm for learning evaporates. Humour and interesting examples can counter-act this, but nothing is more effective than the clear understanding that the boss thinks this next hours presentation is very important and in many ways vital to continued employment.
A Sample Training Presentation PowerPoint is included as an example of the type of slides that are prepared for the training presentations.