First authorised centres delighted by the level of take up of the IITT TPMA service
The first batch of IITT Authorised Centres offering the IITT's new Training Performance Monitoring & Assessment service (TPMA) are reporting significant uptake on bookings as companies sign up to get their trainers assessed.
'Interest and take up of TPMA has taken us by surprise," explained Jooli Atkins of Matrix FortyTwo, the first company to gain TPMA AQAC status. "As we are able to offer TPMA from the start of a trainer's career with our existing train the trainer programme Excellent Learning Facilitation (ELF) being accepted by the IITT, as well as offering assessment for more experienced trainers, the hits on our website have increased dramatically and the level of enquiries has been really positive. Many of our existing ELFs are using this opportunity to have their skills validated by the IITT and BCS, through our Transferring Training Excellence to TPMA workshop but we have also had many enquiries from trainers who have been through other accreditations and also want to transfer to TPMA."
The IITT's new initiative to upgrade and monitor the performance quality of trainers of all disciplines - Trainer Performance Monitoring & Assessment (TPMA) - was launched at the Institute's national conference last September and has received significant approval by not only its professional membership but also leading lights in the industry.
Steve Noxon, IT Training Manager at Eurostar, is delighted with the IITT's alignment to national standards and is excited about using the TPMA service to monitor and assess the performance of the company's training staff. These are not only IT trainers but trainers across the Eurostar organisation.
"Eurostar's training teams cover various aspects of the business, from areas as diverse as IT Training, Customer Service Skills Training, Personal Excellence Training, Language Training and Engineering Training," explained Noxon.
"It is important to Eurostar that we deliver training across all of these areas to the highest degree possible, and in the past it has been a challenge to benchmark our trainers against national standards. Traditionally we have developed our trainers by requiring them to achieve external training certifcations, such as TAP and CTP, as well as attending internal 'train the trainer' courses. Whilst these are good indicators of training skills and delivery techniques, they do not necessarily provide a way of benchmarking against standards nationwide, and are not always an accurate reflection of how a trainer performs in the workplace in a 'live' situation.
"Eurostar is in the process of finding a solution to the above issues, and we feel that the TPMA will be a very positive step forward for us. The TPMA will provide a framework for Eurostar to be able to monitor its trainers in their own working environment, and allow our training managers to set a benchmark and measure our training team against key performance indicators. The TPMA can be introduced across all of our training disciplines within the organisation, and will give our trainers a qualification that they are able to use should they ever leave the company. In these uncertain times this is a valuable asset to any trainer, but it is expected that trainers will feel more appreciated in their role by having the qualification, and will continue to thrive at Eurostar."
"We are delighted with the extremely positive response from our membership as well as the industry as a whole," explained Ed Monk, Managing Director of the IITT. "It proves that this is exactly what the whole training professional industry has been waiting for - a genuine, recognised standard which empowers trainers, training departments, and training providers, and offers the ability for organisations to assess and monitor the quality of their trainers themselves."
"The Institute of IT Training has recognised the need for training managers to become empowered to assess, monitor and benchmark the performance of their own trainers," said Colin Steed, chief executive of the IITT.
"TPMA is a record of the training professional's quality of performance in a live environment aligned to national standards - a real quality benchmark of your trainers.
"Although there is a charge for a TPMA assessment, the service is designed to be cost effective. We realize that times are hard and any expenditure has to be justified. We will help our members by offering free membership for 1 year for those members who successfully achieve the ICTP certificate this year," said Steed.
Training Synergy, Happy Computers, Train & Certify, Verridian, Matrix 42, and QA were the first group of companies to gain approval to become IITT Approved Centres.
Henry Stewart, managing director of Happy Computers is delighted with the response to TPMA. "The new standard is a very exciting development and we are getting huge interest in it from our clients. It provides a new flexibility and a new focus on the needs of the learner. I believe TPMA has the potential to transform the quality of training in our industry."
David Field, director of Training Synergy, said: "TPMA has great significance, as it is the first industry certification that meets all of our quality requirements and commitments. As such we were keen to become one of the first AQACs to provide courses and assessments for our clients and associate trainers. Since its launch we have received a fantastic response in terms of queries for the courses, and interest in the value of the certification. Being able to provide a certificate based on competencies aligned with national standards and assessment evidence that can be used towards gaining the accredited qualification PTLLS provides us, our clients and associates a distinct advantage in these competitive times".
"We believe that being able to measure, monitor and target trainer performance is essential. Train and Certify has received good take-up of both the assessment only service and also our three day Train the Trainer course, which is closely mapped to the TPMA standards and includes assessment," reports Adrian Ince, Managing Director, Train and Certify Limited.
There are now over 25 organisations who are in the process of being verified and authorised, including global IT vendors, internal training departments, external training providers and freelance trainer agencies.
Further information on the IITT Authorised Centres offering Assessments can be found here:
• Happy Computers: http://www.happycomputers.co.uk/view-and-book-courses-/view-and-book-courses-/trainer-certification-course/
• Matrix FortyTwo: http://matrix42.co.uk/TPMA%20Courses.pdf
• Train & Certify: http://www.trainandcertify.co.uk/assessment/
• Training Synergy: http://www.trainingsynergy.com/courses/tpma-courses/tpma-courses