Training and Staff Development

Training is a key activity during system implementation and it can be a major cause of implementation failure if it is ignored or inadequately resourced. Perhaps surprisingly for organisations concerned with educational activities, many education organisations only make superficial plans for training and staff development and, consequently, underestimate the costs. The reality in far too many cases is that the costs of training and staff development will exceed initial estimates.

Those estimates must cover all types of training and staff development during the implementation process and afterwards as further system changes are made and new employees arrive and roles change.

The implementation of a VLE is a clear example of where training needs are often underestimated. Teaching staff in particular need training not only in the capabilities and use of the system but also in the pedagogical aspects of designing and evaluating e-Learning activities.

Training and the Supplier

The software supplier and/or the appointed implementation partner will almost certainly offer to conduct all training required by the institution. Because of the large number of users needing training and the extent of software for which training will be required, significant amounts of training from the supplier will be very expensive.

Nevertheless, the supplier and/or the partner should be capable of providing the best form of initial training because of the in-depth knowledge and experience of the software. Therefore, it may be advisable to purchase initial 'train the trainer' type training from either the supplier or the partner.

Please note that it is likely to be a condition of the supplier's support agreement that your organisation accepts responsibility for ensuring that each person who uses the software is adequately trained in all aspects of the parts of the software utilised by that person. It may also be the responsibility of your organisation to select only suitable users to be trained and to withdraw from training any user considered by the supplier to have insufficient aptitude.