Evaluation methodology for training courses

Background

This project has arisen from the findings of the scoping project, P4.100 (Scoping Courses - In Preparation for Evaluations in Compliance, Safety and Common Technical Areas) which provided a first level review of selected courses used in the industry to develop staff competence in areas of safety, compliance and technical expertise for particular occupational groups. This review illustrated the use of diverse approaches to competence development and maintenance that were company specific, but which also shared a number of features across organisations. It was evident that the companies continue to expend significant resource on training and development, but with little knowledge of how their approaches compare with like activities in other organisations.

Objective

The project aims to establish the requirements for an evaluation methodology that could be used as a basis for evaluating training in any selected area of the rail industry, to design the evaluation methodology, including processes, by which current training approaches might be evaluated and to evaluate the range of rail safety induction programs currently on offer.

Outcomes

By developing an evaluation methodology for one specific area of need, this project will develop a model that can then be applied to any number of areas of skill development which would benefit from an industry-wide approach while also allowing organisations to make strategic decisions about customisation of generic training approaches to meet areas of need relating to market niche, different regulatory frameworks etc. If such a methodology can be developed and agreed upon, it would enable the harmonisation of activities and contributes to the Australasian Railway Association’s strategic goals of building industry cooperation, improving performance and generating downstream cost containment.

Benefits

The project output will provide a benchmark tool and methodology for the effective evaluation of training courses and its use will extend beyond the initial objective of reviewing rail safety induction programs.