A training idea that's so old it feels new

 I’m thinking here about the trainer as a facilitator. A lot of training delivered in our sector is based on ‘tell’.

This applies particularly to training that delivers basic knowledge; the learners are invited to open the tops of their heads so that the trainer can pour in a pint or two of basic information. This leads to trainers reading off PowerPoints and learners feeling disengaged. It may enable the learner to retain enough knowledge to pass a multiple-choice exam, but that knowledge is often not retained in the long term because it isn’t anchored in a process of understanding or discovery in which the learner has been engaged.

This is where a different style of training can help: the trainer acting as a facilitator who engages the learner in a process of discovery. A good example is a development workshop for venue managers that I led recently. I called it ‘The Politics of Social Control in the Night-time Economy’.

The first thing you have to do if you’re going to facilitate the development of understanding is respect the level of experience of those sitting in front of you. This particular workshop was all about the control issues and dilemmas faced by these very experienced venue managers.

We talked about how budget cuts were affecting policing - the ‘thin blue line’ in town and city centres; about the increasing expectation that managers and door supervisors will step into the gaps; about the need to enhance customer care, particularly for vulnerable, female customers. We also discussed the changing ‘culture of intoxication’ with over 2.5 million people taking illegal drugs out in the night-time economy every weekend.

All of these things need to be managed, and the sharing of experiences facilitated by this workshop really worked in terms of developing a shared understanding of best practice.

Paul Chase is head of compliance at CPL Training​​