Union gets agreement on Workplace Trainer development

After working with RailCorp on a steering committee over several years the union has finally received a commitment from RailCorp for an enhanced holistic program of training and development for CityRail (ETR and InterCity) workplace trainers.

The essence of the Driver Trainer Development Program is to assist in maximising the training, coaching and assessing skills of trainers.

This is a fantastic outcome as trainers have long called for development training and better quality training, particularly in the area of technical skills.

The program will be progressively rolled out in four steps over the next 12 months. The first step has already been completed and the reaction from trainers has been very positive. The priority of the first step was emphasise the need for ‘soft’ or non-technical skills in trainers – a relatively new addition to the training process.

The message is that the development of good communication skills and the creation of an informal and enjoyable environment for trainees makes it more likely that new information will sink in.

The union is now pushing for confirmation of the timing for the rollout of the next three stages which will include; the use of the automatic brake; technical faults and failures, and simulator use; and on-train competency assessment of driver trainers.