Training the Trainer

The focus of any Train the Trainer program should be to provide instructors with a practical way to develop, improve and implement new or existing topics, concepts and skills. Even if regional trainers or agencies use different approaches to training, there can be great benefit found in a program that promotes continuity, consistency and quality control across a variety of training methods.

UTM Reality Based Training’s Train the Trainer Programs are designed to do just that. It is intended as a blueprint for law enforcement and military trainers, as well as professional training organizations to develop quality instructors who will ultimately train end users.

There are many motivated and qualified instructors across the country with years of law enforcement, military and professional training experience – so one might ask, “What makes UTM’s program different?” This is a valid question that must be addressed prior to any discussion of what that program should look like. The first part of the answer can be found in what UTM’s train the trainer programs “are not” It is not intended to be a rigid, restrictive and singular set of rules and techniques that must be universally adopted across the board by every trainer in every institution. That would not only be impractical, but contrary to the essence of what such a program seeks to accomplish. The goal for a train the trainer program is to provide a template or model for qualified trainers that allows the implementation of individualized agency or organization protocols and concepts that suit the needs of the specific audience, while still adhering to industry accepted best practices. UTM’s train the trainer programs will provide information and will serve as a stand-alone instruction guide but also be flexible enough to have broader application among existing programs.

The second part of the answer to the question of “what make’s UTM’s train the trainer programs different”, can be best explained by understanding that how something is taught is every bit as important as what is taught, as information is only as effective as how well it is conveyed. A skilled officer or operator may very well be able to perform a skill or job very well but that does not automatically make him or her an effective instructor. An easy to apply model or methodology often helps qualified instructors to bridge the gap between their knowledge/abilities and those of their students. As in any successful train the trainer program, our goal is to create training success not training scars. Training scars can be as viewed as an engrained bad habit borne from improper training or instruction and is the antithesis of what trainers want students to take away from their training experience.

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Below is a list of some of the other advantages and favorable qualities of UTM’s train the trainer programs. It is not meant to be an all-inclusive list but rather what we believe to be a litmus test when evaluating the pros and cons of any train the trainer program:

Consistency: An effective train the trainer program should provide a means for maintaining the consistency of quality and content of instruction in all topical areas. It should encourage freethinking, but not free-lancing. There will no doubt be some differences in techniques, strategies and protocols taught so it is imperative that any program consists of a training model or methodology which provides a template or paradigm for continuity based on industry best practices and core principles. An example would be in the area of tactics. This type of program should be applicable to individual agency protocols or tactics without necessarily being “tactics dependent” as long as what is being taught is of sound content.

Quality Control of Instruction: This concept of quality control and assurance is something that will be familiar to anyone who has supervised instructors within an agency. Quality control of instruction is part of the consistency element described above and simply means that a train the trainer program should provide a method to promote consistency and quality control among instructors and instruction throughout the initiative. This is critical to the success of any individual program but even more so for one that would be implemented regionally and scrutinized nationally. For example, it is common for two instructors to teach the exact same topic in a different style but the content, and core principles delineated in the program should be consistent across instructors. Lack of consistency and quality control of instructors leads to sending mixed messages to students and creating training scars.

Testing Protocols: An effective train the trainer program should provide a model or methodology to test the validity of existing techniques and protocols. Tactics and training can be debated endlessly but a good model for training should allow for the actual testing of what works and what does not through realistic training. Live fire as well as utilizing Non-Lethal Training Ammunition (NLTA) for Skills Practice, Force-on-Target (FOT), Force-on-Role Player (FOR), Force-on-Force (FOF) and Scenarios are tremendous tools for accomplishing this. In the case of FOF or FOR, this allows for the engagement of interactive human role players allowing trainers to see if what they are teaching students is likely to have real world application and success.

Training Model Applications: The UTM train the trainer programs will also have a model for training basic, advanced and in-service students as well as an easy way for remediation of each. It will allow for effective, realistic training while taking into consideration budget, time and facility limitations as well as minimizing “down-time” for students. The training model used would show trainers how to take students through a progression of skills up to and including realistic scenario development and application as well as stress inoculation and decision-making.

Stay Safe and Train Real!

Author: Rob Lambraia, UTM Director of Training