Chapter 8: Assessing training requirements

From Community Radio - User Guide [http://web4all.in web4all]

ASSESSING TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

Now that we've had a look at the responsibilities involved in maintaining equipment in good order, it's time to ask ourselves an important question: What are the technology related training requirements required for our CR station? (Of course, your station staff may require a variety of inputs and capacity building measures in terms of running/managing a station, mobilizing the local community whom the station addresses, and developing a feedback mechanism that allows the incorporation of listeners' opinions into the stations' programming. But for the moment, we will confine ourselves to the question of technology related training, as that is the primary focus of this manual.) The first step to assessing your technological training requirements is, of course, to ask yourself what level the various members of your team are at (with reference to their ability to interact with technology):

1. Absolute novice (no idea regarding equipment, operation or repair)

2. Trainee (Has some understanding of practical usage of equipment, but must be accompanied by more experienced people)

3. Operating level (can operate equipment comfortably and competently);

4. Expert operating level (can operate equipment and can fix common operating issues and make fine adjustments to the equipment if required)

5. Basic Repair level (can fix most simple problems in equipment easily)

6. Advanced repair level (can handle advanced electronic repair equipment and has an excellent understanding of circuits, circuit diagrams, soldering, and electronic theory.)

Assessing training needs

Technical training can also be of different types: How to operate various kinds of equipment of software; how to make common repairs on studio or field equipment; or even electrical repairs and maintenance To assess the type of technical training that you and your team require, you will first have to answer the following questions:

1. Are there any community members who have any knowledge of electronics, electricals and/or equipment repair that we can access readily? (If so, what kind of skills do they have, and will they be willing to volunteer their expertise to the CR station?)
2. What kind of equipment are we going to install in the CR station? Will the station staff need any training to operate this equipment? Will this equipment have any simple components or pieces that we can maintain on our own within the staff?
3. Are there any equipment repair shops or service centers nearby which can undertake some of the simple maintenance responsibilities? If yes, can this service center/repair shop train some of the CR staff in basic repairs?
4. What kind of advisers and training facilities can we access outside the immediate community? (Are there any courses or service trainings offered by equipment suppliers which are relevant to our setup and equipment?)
5. Can we work out a training process with whoever installs the equipment and sets up the studio for us? What kind of trainings can these be? (Installation/Operation/maintenance/simple repairs/complex repairs?) How many such trainings can be arranged - and where?
6. What are the points to consider when we budget for trainings to address these needs?
7. Can we hire a specialist repair and maintenance technician to run the repair and maintenance process, or will this have to be an additional responsibility for management or an identified member within the staff?
8. Will we undertake the training of fresh volunteers and technical staff ourselves, or will we access outside resource persons or organizations for this? (That is: Will we become technical master trainers ourselves, or will we just learn what needs to be done and outsource the training process?)

It is important to remember that it is almost impossible to become experts at everything - being a service technician requires several years of training and an expert understanding of electronics, for instance.

It is also wise to recognize that your training requirements will be different at different points in time; and that training is likely to be a continuous part of the process of running a CR station: At the beginning, you may have to access training from outside the immediate community; and you might like to get the kind of training that lets you get the station off the ground and running quickly - an important consideration given that CR guidelines in India state that the station must be broadcasting within three months of obtaining the Grant of Permission agreement. (Given that you are unlikely to actually acquire equipment and set up the studios before your application crosses the first set of clearances from the various ministries - see the guidelines in next chapter - this actually doesn't leave you with very much time for the set of trainings!)

Later in the process, you may establish a sustained programme that lets the senior members of the team take on some of the training processes themselves, as they will now be reasonably familiar with the equipment and operation. Building an internal training process also has the advantage of being low cost, from the station's perspective - outside trainers may charge you for their expertise - and sustainable, as skills acquired by staff can be passed on and preserved even if they leave.

It is important, therefore, to create a combination training plan that keeps in mind the available skills and the requirements of the CR station in the long term, in this fashion:

1. Initial training: The training of the core personnel/volunteers and producers of the CR station just before it commences operations;

2. On-going training: The continual training process of staff as new members join and old ones leave; and as equipment, technologies and content production techniques change.

Training resources

Many training resources in the form of manuals and guides (like the one you are reading, for instance) or online internet based articles are readily accessible if you are willing to do some research . Several organizations also run online training courses on various aspects of content production and equipment handling.

For a basic list of online web based resources on radio and community radio 
technology, see Appendix 5: Useful Web-based Resources on Page 265

Several organizations and individuals also provide training in radio, radio programming, radio technology and station setup. Some of them can provide an entire package of services that can help your team develop a CR station from scratch, and assist you through to your first few months on air.

For a list of organizations and individuals with experience in working on 
community radio, radio programming, station setup and equipment setup,
see Appendix 3: Index of Advisory Organizations & Individuals on Page 254

It may be a good idea to discuss the trainings that staff from other CR stations have attended or been a part of, including the kind of advisers and trainers that they have had in the past. This may give you a few clues regarding where you can access training, and who from. Last but not least, it will probably give you an idea of whether the training the other station's staff received was any good - because it should reflect in the way that station runs its operations and produces programmes!