THE ROLE OF THE SHIPBOARD TRAINER

WHERE TO START?

In 1991 I was invited by Hong Kong Shipowners’ Association to talk to them about shipboard training. In the previous two years, as a consultant to Videotel Marine International, I had learned that some of their clients spent large sums of money on shipboard training materials and achieved very little, others spent modest amounts and carried out very successful training. The major difference was the way companies organised their training. After my presentation several managers/owners approached me to write a book on how to carry out shipboard training. They said, “Just tell the people on board how it should be done, don’t say anything about the shore-based managers, we are all too busy with other things to get involved!” I insisted that company training starts at board level and finishes at Board level. If owners/managers give shipboard training a low order of priority and value, the people on board will get the message that, “The company doesn’t think training is important”. That is fatal.

NEED FOR A COMPANY POLICY

At that time, very few Videotel clients across the world had a written company policy on shipboard training. I wrote the book “Training Onboard” including an important chapter on the duties of shore-based managers. I also added an appendix giving an example of a company training policy, explaining the aims and objectives, each person’s duties and responsibilities, the availability of resources, the records to be kept and the need for assessment and evaluation. The third edition, now entitled “Training and Assessment on Board” incorporates the requirements of current STCW revisions. I understand that several companies adopted or adapted the policy for their own use.

HOW SHOULD SHIPBOARD TRAINING BE ORGANISED?

Talking to companies that are well organised with their training, I find there are two ways in which it can be done. Most favour the responsibility being placed upon the ship’s senior staff to give overall supervision, with middle ranking officers being given the duties of “shipboard trainer”. This places an extra burden on already busy people, so some companies have taken the other approach to delivering training, which is to use “travelling trainers” who move from ship to ship in the fleet.

The advantage of travelling trainers. They:

• Are selected for their skill as trainers
• Are additional to the ship’s complement, an extra resource
• Can be briefed ashore on the latest company edicts and priorities
• Can carry with them selected training and assessment material
• May carry out safety audits prior to carrying out training and concentrate on the weaknesses they discover
• Can transfer the lessons learned across the fleet
• Report back directly to managers ashore and keep fleet records

The disadvantage for travelling trainers. They:

• Have only a limited time on board
• Teach trainees who may be busy or tired
• On a working ship, can only have the attention of busy crew members for limited periods, so there is a peak in activity and motivation
• Can only carry a limited amount of training material
• May be viewed by sea staff as relieving them of their responsibilities for ongoing training and assessment, leaving a “motivational gap” when they move to the next ship
• Above all, a travelling trainer does not have time to offer his or her services as a mentor, developing the skills of junior crew members over a prolonged period.

A SHIPBOARD TRAINER

The best Shipboard Trainer is someone who is interested in training and can motivate other people to play their part. He or he should be given clear instructions, provided with proper facilities and training aids and above all, enough time to take on responsibilities additional to their normal work.

The advantages of the nominated shipboard trainer are:

• Familiarity with the ship, its equipment, procedures, manuals etc allowing lessons learned to be applied directly in the workplace
• Knowledge of the ship’s personnel
• The opportunity to initiate and encourage long-term mentoring programmes to develop the skills of junior staff under experienced seniors
• The ability to schedule the work over weeks or months and take advantage of learning opportunities (loading, discharging, bunkering, dry docking, etc.)

Training your own junior staff can give you a much better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, rather than just relying on pieces of paper signed by other people

Possible disadvantages include:

• possible lack of interest in training or motivation,
• possible lack of skills as a trainer
• lack of time
• lack of facilities / space for training
• lack of training and assessment materials

If one person is nominated a “shipboard trainer”, other people may think they do not have to train junior staff – WRONG! Everyone has training responsibilities to a greater or lesser extent

THE IDEAL COMBINATION

Best of all is a combination of these two methods. A company that has a comprehensive training policy can send travelling trainers to carry out audits, make reports and initiate training programmes. The nominated shipboard trainer can then continue once the other person has left, creating an optimum and continuing training environment.

SHOULD THESE PEOPLE BE TRAINED AS TRAINERS?

We are often told “leaders are born and not made”. The same could be said about good teachers and trainers. We have all come across people whose natural ability made them approachable, whose teaching was a pleasure for us and easy for them. I can think of 4 or 5 exceptional people in that category during my career who were like that – maybe 3 or 4 per cent of those that tried to teach me. Does that mean I was wasting my time with the other 96% or 97%? Most teachers are not perfect, but do a reasonable job. With a little bit of “trainer training” they could be much better. So I think these people should be trained as trainers. I didn’t appreciate how good the training could be until I started working with Pat Mitchell of Mitchell Training – he is one of those rare good teachers I mentioned!! I am indebted to Pat for many of the ideas that follow.

WHAT SHOULD A “TRAIN THE TRAINER” COURSE CONTAIN?

The programme should provide detailed guidance on four different types of training and assessment:

1. Short group training ‘classroom’ sessions often involving a mixture of short lectures, video clips, demonstrations, examples of good – and bad! – practice, and discussion.
2. On-the-job supervision, mentoring or “coaching”.
3. Support for CBT (CBT programmes can be made much more focussed, interesting and effective if senior officers play an active role in helping individuals to plan how to use them and apply the lessons learned).
4. How to assess trainees and evaluate courses.

The guidance on how to train should start with subjects that are mandatory. An example is shipboard familiarisation. What often goes wrong with induction training is that individuals are given far too much information in too short a time, no one checks whether they have understood it and there is no follow up.

Probably most important in voyage training are emergency drills: setting them up, running them and carrying out associated de-briefing and evaluation. In today’s world, training in routine security measures is another important area.

Finally, developing each individual’s training for certificates of competency and career progression is essential if the industry is to be safe and efficient.

Short training sessions should cover: logistics – the setting, equipment etc.; how to prepare for and run a session – how to begin; how to keep the group interested and involved; how to use multi-media material effectively; how to handle tricky situations; de-briefing and evaluation and how to follow up a training session with action planning.

On-the-job coaching needs careful preparation and clear objectives. It is important to get to know the learner and break the task down into bite-sized chunks. The course should cover running a coaching session – getting started; taking it one step at a time; working together; keeping it positive; letting the learner practice; adding the finishing touches. It is important to take advantage of everyday situations – what to look for and how to react.

SUPPORT FOR CBT

The real danger with CBT is that it can become an isolated activity involving only the trainee and a computer. There are few subjects that can be really well understood and remembered if learned in isolation. The training officer should motivate the learner; clarifying objectives; agreeing the type and level of support available while the individual is working on the course. Then there is the important job of getting the trainee to apply the learning – providing opportunities for application and resolving outstanding issues.

ASSESSMENT AND RECORD KEEPING

Another wonderful teacher, Walter H. G. Lewin, aged 71, a physics professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has a cult following. For a while he was No. 1 on the most downloaded list at “iTunes U” educational web site. His opening lecture shows that, if you do not know the accuracy of the yardstick with which you are measuring, the measurements are meaningless. It is similar with training. If you cannot measure outcomes, you don’t know whether the training is effective or not. Assessment methods may include evaluation of drills, practical tests, oral questions, written tests and computer based testing.

Lastly, it is no good training and testing if you don’t keep good records, so the “train the trainer” course should include reference to cadet and rating training books, appraisals, written records and computer-based record keeping.

WHO SHOULD DO THE TRAIN THE TRAINER COURSE?

Anyone who is nominated as a travelling or shipboard trainer should do the course and obtain the formal certificate of completion. Those who have been carrying out this role for years may feel they do not need to do it, and that formal training might destroy their natural ability as trainers. I felt like that, but find that it improves what I do by building on what I was already doing reasonable well.

For most senior and middle ranking officers who are asked from time to time to supervise and assess the training of juniors, the course is an interesting and useful resource which can be “dipped into” for things like mentoring/coaching, running a drill, assessment, supporting computer-based learning etc. I promise that whatever you learn and apply in practice will add to your interest and job satisfaction.