Facilitators challenges – Accommodating all, the Facilitator's challenge – Health and safety training is attracting different people from all walks of life. As positive as this is, this can be complicated for facilitators as they tend to try to accommodate all without diverting away from the quality they are supposed to deliver.
A classroom that is made up of people from various backgrounds, cultural beliefs and age categories can be considered as an advantage. The more diverse a classroom is, the more this will contribute to debate and knowledge exchange. But that doesn’t mean it will automatically make life easier for the lecturer.
Lecturers are subjected to pressure of ensuring that every student will be sufficiently trained to successfully pass exams. To achieve this, lecturers can implement different strategies to ensure that everyone benefits from the training.
Classrooms that are made up of different people with different backgrounds have a varied level of understanding. Facilitators can resort to encouraging group discussions and to stimulate debate. This helps to establish how much information has been understood and help could be offered immediately to those that seem to be legging behind.
Some learners are general slow learners compared to others. However, it is essential that when they go for training they also acquire maximum knowledge just like everyone else. Facilitators should ensure that they can identify students that are struggling or need further education to excel. These could be helped by being offered excess study material and extra guidance or lessons, where possible. A facilitator should go out of his way to ensure that these learners too pass significantly at the end of the training course.
Facilitators find themselves with the task of lecturing first time learners who are clueless about the health and safety industry. This group of people has special needs as they need thorough education in all aspects. Facilitators have to ensure that they make their training lessons unique by using displays and demonstrations that visually show what is taught theoretically to learners. To many, information made visual is easier to absorb as they can relate to what is being taught even after the completion of the course.
Another effective way of adjusting theory so that it meets the need of learners is using technology. This could be in the form of videos and sound clips. Video can be used to enhance the level of understanding for learners.
Facilitators interpersonal skills play an important role in helping them execute their duties effectively without alienating anyone or leaving them behind. Facilitators should have good skills of identifying learners that are struggling. This would help him know which step to take forward to ensure that everyone is accommodated.
Before the commencement of each course, facilitators should do a thorough back ground check on their learners so as to know what are the special needs and wants they have and what to look out for. Different groups of people are sent to training. It could be first timers or health and safety officers that are simple going for refresher courses. The needs and demands of these groups differ hence; the facilitator should equip him or herself adequately for the respective group with the right resources.
Having a vast knowledge of handling people and being up-to-date with current affairs would be of great advantage to the facilitator. Facilitators should have the news and information about what is happening around them on their fingertips. This would help them to use it as examples in their lectures to clarify certain points or increase understanding. Considering that classes consists of people from various industries, it is likely that some might find some information irrelevant to them hence using real life situations could alert everyone on the importance of safety.
Adjusting the content of the program could prove fruitless if facilitators do not possess complimentary skills. A facilitator should be able to adjust to any learner's level so that they understand them and thus; they would be able to assist them. Facilitators could face fewer challenges if they are flexible to lecture from any angle, pace and in any form.
As the health and safety profession is a vibrant profession, it is fair to expect that facilitators are vibrant and flexible. The days where lecturing material remained the same for many years are gone!
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