The NAHSI Training Strategy
In 1998 the BAPC published the first edition of the National Aviation Heritage Register. One of the major purposes of the Register was to ‘promote improved standards of conservation and protection for preserved airframes, having regard for their national significance’. The desire to improve standards was particularly keen as the BAPC recognised that many aircraft were at risk of being lost. In 2000 the BAPC held a Survival Strategy event at the Imperial War Museum Duxford, in addition to BAPC members the invited organisations included the Department of Culture, Media & Sport, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Royal Aeronautical Society. One of the main outcomes of this meeting was that the lack of formal training for volunteers was a contributory factor to the poor state of repair of many existing exhibits.
With the support of the HLF, the BAPC decided to apply for a lottery fund grant to set up a national training initiative. In 2002 a Steering Group was formed from BAPC members and specialist staff from the IWM Duxford. The priority for the group was to quantify the requirement for training by carrying out a Training Needs Analysis (TNA). The TNA was conducted in 2002/3 by means of a questionnaire survey of both volunteers and organisations. The results of the survey, in which many of you may have taken part, were then analysed to produce an exceedingly comprehensive report which allowed the group to proceed with the HLF application.
The application was submitted in 2004 and received approval in September of that year.
Following a period of hectic activity in clarifying a number of issues with HLF the National Aviation Heritage Skills Initiative (NAHSI) became a reality in June 2005 with the appointment of the training team based at Duxford.
In starting the project the team immersed themselves in the TNA report and concluded that there were several factors that must be considered when determining the NAHSI Training Strategy:
- Training sessions must be split into one (1) day modules.
- Training sessions must be available on any day of the week including Saturdays and Sundays.
- The content of the training must be relevant to the needs of the individual volunteer and the organisations they worked for.
- Where possible training shall be provided on-site at BAPC member organisations.
- Volunteers must have the choice of opting to enrol in the City & Guilds assessment package. It could not be mandatory.
Taking into account the response to the surveys and the points above the Training Strategy was developed (a schematic presentation can be found under the Course Info page of this website).
A further consideration was to use proven procedures when carrying out the course design activity. The chart below shows the cycle of the Systems Approach to Training. It is a well-tested model that takes trainers through a series of steps that ensures that the training is relevant and audited.
One of the most important elements of the cycle is ‘Evaluation’. This can be a formal process where the trainers carry out a survey of everyone who has undergone training or it can arise from feedback from volunteers and their supervisors. It is vital that all volunteers who have any contact with the training scheme make known their views as to its suitability and relevance.
Another factor that required a lot of trial and error was the method of delivering the training. Surprisingly there are a lot to choose from!
For the classroom-based modules it was decided that participation in an interactive session where the instructor concentrates on getting the audience to take part was preferable. During the trial runs of the modules this method was found to be far more acceptable than traditional ‘chalk and talk’ where the instructor virtually lectures the audience. For this format it was determined that the maximum class size would be eight (8). To support this style of delivery a great deal of effort has been put into producing comprehensive Training Notes that should become a reference document for the future.
As the modules become more workshop based such as ‘Skin Repairs’ it will be necessary to reduce the class size, possibly to a maximum of four (4). This may seem very small but given the limited time in a session and the amount of close supervision required we believe this will provide the most effective training solution.
Since the team started work on course design in July 2005 one particular recurring issue has arisen:
Q. What is my volunteer authorised to do after training?
A. Nothing that he/she was not already authorised to do before he/she attended the training session!
Authorisation to carry out work on exhibits or operate any sort of equipment must, quite rightly, lie in the hands of the organisation where the volunteer works.
Volunteers attending training sessions will have different experience levels. The training will impart knowledge but it cannot provide experience. This is not to say that experienced volunteers do not need to attend, we firmly believe that there is something to be gained by everyone.
The experienced volunteer will gain by having a reappraisal of his working methods, updating his awareness of Health & Safety and hopefully exposure to different techniques and processes. In addition his/her participation and sharing of knowledge, by way of classroom discussion, could well prove invaluable.
In the case of the newer volunteers we hope to invest them with knowledge of practices and procedures that are needed in a heritage organisation. On completion of the various modules we hope that they will be keen to put the learning to use but this must take place in a controlled environment. Your ‘management’ can be the only judges of when a volunteer has sufficient experience to accept greater levels of responsibility.
Many organisations already operate progressive authorisation procedures. For example a new volunteer may be able to be a competent member of a towing team but it will be some time before he can supervise the operation. If you do not have such a system we will be pleased to offer what help we can to initiate it.
In conclusion we hope that you enjoy all of the training modules that you are able to attend.
