As the seriousness of the Coronavirus magnifies, the effect reaches all of us. Especially in public safety, where we must continue to do the work that is essential to the safety and security of our families, our communities and our country.
As we shut down many functions all around us, one of the big impact areas is training. Things that we scheduled months, even years in advance, are now put on an indefinite hold. And training of our people is vital to our abilities to protect others.... so what do we do?
Regardless of its duration, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrust us into a new set of priorities that include these questions:
How do we extend our budget further, with these new financial challenges?
How do we reach people better, remotely?
How do we continue to train, when training is limited with the first two questions?
When converting some of our course material to the “mobile” environment, what type of delivery system or Learning Management System do we need?
What type of training do our trainers need to deliver online content, or blended classes?
As we all try to adjust to our new world order, one thing is becoming clear through the fog: An online world is the new norm. The dynamic shift in the workforce has been going on for some time now (as referenced in our White Paper, “Navigating the Changing Seascape of Maritime Public Safety” and in our webinar “Training the Maritime Workforce,”) but now, this crisis is magnifying its complications and impact. Taking existing or legacy training, and rethinking how we deliver it in a timely, costly and adaptable manner may help us weather these challenges of today, and tomorrow. Bringing it to the mobile realm addresses a lot of these issues and can be done in relatively short order, with the right Instructional Designers, Master Trainers, and Learning Management Providers.
This is not really new “news”, as we have been talking about mobile learning, and delivering it to ports all across the country for a number of years. But the questions are being raised, and we have been working diligently at the NMLEA to accommodate a number of strategic partners, and are assisting agencies transition some of the Instructor-led training (ILT) to mobile learning solutions through our online education portal and Learning Management System (the LMS we provide at no cost, as a service to the public safety community.)
Let us help you answer those questions, and map out a course into the future. Contact the NMLEA team at info@nmlea.org, or the Executive Director at Mark.DuPont@nmlea.org. We’ll find a way to help you adapt your training to this new world order.