Identifying skill shortage and filling the gap
In response to a shortage of resources at one of our clients, ONRG identified that there was an opportunity to remove the bottleneck by developing personnel within their organisation. Through our PATH training process, we were able to identify strong candidates and tailor an effective training programme that led to meeting the stringent authorisation requirements within a duration significantly less than industry norms.
After reviewing the candidates, we selected Gavin to develop and set him on the PATH process, kicking off with evaluation. The evaluation tool allowed us to provide a focused training programme to develop Gavin..
“I enjoy training with the ONRG team. I was keen to learn and ONRG certainly have some great methods that developed me both technically and in management skills. I’m now on track to further advancement towards a SAP position.”
Gavin Chapman
Classroom learnings
The ONRG PATH process recognises that not everyone learns in the same way, and as such it is essential that our training programmes balance the need for imparting theoretical knowledge with ensuring it can be implemented. In this particular case it was essential to undertake the theoretical knowledge training promptly, and so the style adopted was mentoring rather than the traditional pupil-teacher method. This allowed us to undertake frequent and intense one-to-one sessions backed by independent learning and assessed work. More importantly, it allowed us to develop a relationship that constantly adjusted to Gavin’s needs. Training sessions were held daily, with the course material delivered in modules specifically written for the task Gavin was going to be carrying out on site.
Practical training
Practical training was key for Gavin’s role. Gavin first shadowed an ONRG SAP on site, enabling him to witness how the theoretical training he’d received is implemented in practice. Subsequently having understood the application, he could then physically operate the equipment on site whilst being supervised by the SAP.
During the practical training session, Gavin was subject to additional mock scenarios to rapidly develop his competency in the event of a deviation occurring. For example, asking Gavin in mid-operation what would he do now if a suspicious sound occurred and how would he manage this.
Success
Over a short period, we intensively trained Gavin. Our training approach enabled him both to absorb information quickly and to demonstrate the application of this knowledge. The PATH process is founded on continual review and feedback, so when ultimately nominating Gavin for the independent authorisation panel we had a high degree of confidence in the expected outcome, and neither Gavin nor ONRG were disappointed. He successfully passed his authorisation panel and became a key member to the safety from the system team filling the WTG transformer maintenance requirements on site.
