Headland Modular Training scheme is Highly Commended

Headland Modular Training scheme is Highly Commended

Headland’s new Modular Training scheme was nominated for the 2018 Training Award administered by the Archaeology Training Forum (ATF). We are very pleased to announce that we were ‘Highly Commended’ coming in second place behind Historic England’s Specialist Workplace Learning Programme.

We thought we’d celebrate our achievement by providing some further detail on the program being created and delivered by our Learning & Development department.

Learning & Development has grown from its beginnings in 2016 to a full –time team of three; Julie Lochrie leads the department with Laurence Savage as the Training Officer and Rachel McMullan as a Trainer. Rachel and Laurence are dedicated trainers who deliver presentations, workshops and on-the-job training to staff across all Headlands regions, projects and departments. Their work not only improves the skills and knowledge of individuals but encourages and strengthens a stronger culture of learning company-wide.

Our focus has been on enabling entry-level staff to gain better job prospects allowing them to progress with their careers in the fieldwork sector. Our modular training programme has been directly impacted by this and came into its own this previous year; to date we have created content for 115 out of our total 150 modules. One the most important module series we have created is called ‘Train the Trainer’. These allow us to certify the knowledge of people within the company and provide support so that can deliver the modules themselves. This enables a scalable training network which is key to making this programme achievable, especially when a single project can have as many as 200 staff or more.

We use blended learning to add flexibility and customisation to create unique learning pathways that suit individual needs or circumstances. We have invested in an eLearning platform where we host all our modules in an easy-to-read format with built-in assessments. You can test out our system here. When assessing our programme the ATF judges felt that the use of on-line learning modules alongside practical experience provided training that staff at all levels could easily access.

A snapshot of one of our E-Learning modules

As ever Headland is committed to enabling new staff to enter the industry but also maintaining and raising the skills and knowledge of the present workforce. The direction the industry moves in over the coming decades will depend on the people whose careers are beginning now. While we improve skills and knowledge in the industry today, we are also providing stronger foundations for its growth in the future.

If you would like to contact us to learn more about our training scheme please email training@headlandarchaeology.com