A training manager's guide to creating a manual
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) went into the business of environmental management training in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) right after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Since then, the EPA has developed 16 training manuals and delivered many more training courses in the region. As we detailed in our last edition, the agency is currently working on a half dozen new training manuals and courses for the CEE.
To gain some insight on what was involved in developing these courses, we spoke to Orlando Gonzales, manager of the International Training Program at the EPA's Office of International Activities. He told us the following:
Money questions
The first thing you have to do when you develop a new training manual is to determine the subject for which you think training is required. The EPA normally identifies new course topics based on apparent demand in the CEE region. Then there is the crucial question of financial resources: Do we have enough money to develop the course? If not, do we have to do some new fund raising?
First we have to assess how much money is needed to develop a new course. The answer depends on various factors, like the length and intensity of the course. But the most important variable is the amount of existing material available for the subject area. If there is plenty of research material on the subject, a course can be developed with approximately USD 25,000-40,000. If there isn't enough material on the subject, the total cost may be somewhere between USD 80,000-150,000.
For a Central and Eastern European organization these costs will be less, because the main component of research is human input, and labor is inexpensive in the CEE. Another way to assess the costs is as follows: It takes the EPA about 1,500 hours to develop a training manual, plus 200 hours for administrative activities.
In the EPA's experience, the search for financial resources is usually the most difficult and stressful part of developing a new training course. Any organization trying to establish a course in the CEE can also expect the quest for sponsorship to involve a lot of stress.
Important steps to take
There are several steps that should be taken in order to develop a high quality product.
You should be prepared to:
- Identify the subject matter;
- Identify financial resources;
- Identify the module manager for the course to be developed;
- Clearly state the course goals and objectives;
- Conduct research on existing materials related to the subject area;
- Identify a contractor to work on the course format/design;
- Conduct a meeting with experts on the subject to discuss objectives of the course and to review any existing materials;
- Meet with contractor to further discuss specifics of what the new module should look like and hand over any relevant materials on the subject so the contractor can get go work;
- Obtain comments for revisions to the first draft copy and seek recommendations for improving the manual;
- Revise the final draft;
- Conduct a dry-run exercise to test the materials and to recruit new facilitators;
- Last but not least, put final touches on the course.
Features of a good manual
With all these steps to follow something can go wrong at any point. You can diminish your risks if you keep the following key points in mind:
- You need clear goals and objectives for the training program;
- The manual and/or course catalogue must be interesting and attractive;
- The above materials should include a brief description of the course.
But the most important step is to make sure to have as many people as possible reviewing and commenting on the materials prior to finalizing it. This is true for everything you work on.
REC * EMTC * PUBLICATIONS * INSIGHT * WINTER 1997
