Also called Training scheme
Scouting is a youth movement in which Adults provide guidance and support to youth members. The development, support, and delivery of this Youth Programme require the active involvement of many competent people who need to be recruited, equipped with the competencies required to fulfil their tasks, continuously supported, and assigned to new tasks whenever appropriate, until their retirement.
The function of the support for Adults is to help them to continuously improve the skills, competencies, knowledge, values, and attitudes required to increase the quality and effectiveness of their work in their various roles. This process happens via on-the-job coaching, personal reflection, external acquired competences, peer support, and training.
Why is it Needed
System review makes sense because it:
- Keeps the system streamlined and centred in the NSO´s strategy.
- Is a check on obsolescing, that is: the effect of information explosion, changes are occurring in management methods, in Educational Methods; in NSOs, in society in general.
What is it
We live in a so-called VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous). Current training and training systems need frequent updates in one or several aspects (content, timing, location, method, number of people, rewarding elements, pathways, etc.).
To help your National Scout Organization (NSO) with this process of renewal, a guidance manual and a summary poster (see links below) are available. These support materials are useful when a training system already exists. As mentioned in the GSAT dimension 6 – Adults in Scouting, a training system is a key element for an NSO to fulfil its requirements. These requirements are part of this framework:
- Enabling personal development and the acquisition of additional skills and knowledge to facilitate the transfer from one role and function to another.
- Ensuring easy access to training opportunities in terms of their frequency, proximity, previous experiences, and conditions for registration (diversity and inclusion aspect)
- Involving a diverse training team, including adults from all structures, in the training processes to improve the collective competencies.
- Evaluating the training system at least every two years, based on a review of needs, roles, and competencies required, and taking into account societal trends in education and adult development.
System renewal is a continuous and cyclic process: based on the NSO strategy, making sure the structure responds to the strategy, needs assessment (individual and organizational), change proposal, implementation, data on results, evaluation and input to NSO Strategy.
How is it Used
The process covers five phases:
- Starting the Process
- Setting the Framework
- (Re)designing the Training System
- Operating the Training System
- Evaluating the Training System
Training System Renewal Phases
Each phase has a decision point:
- Is there a need to start the process?
- Does the analysis support the renewal?
- Is the system design what is needed and described in the framework?
- Does the system operate well, or do we need to have another look and introduce some more changes?
- What works well, and what needs enhancement?
- What additional resources are needed?
The first two phases have a clear drawback option and process. Each of the phases is presented in a separate chapter in the Training System Review manual. The Training System design or renewal process is described in a very detailed and methodical manner. Some NSOs undergoing such a process might choose a simpler way with fewer steps.