With the publication of the report of the Global Travel Taskforce on the safe return of international travel, the UK Government has announced that overseas leisure travel can resume on 17th May, at the earliest. As operations re-start, businesses with critical training needs are considering how they can address knowledge and skill fade, ensure ongoing compliance and the safety of their business and the people who work in it.
Redline Assured Security (Redline), part of the Safety & Security Division at Air Partner plc, has revealed some insights into client expectations and needs for 2021. Having adapted and evolved its portfolio of training courses to deliver virtual offerings, alongside their well-established portfolio of elearning and face-to-face training, Redline trained over 31,000 delegates during 2020. In a recent sample poll of customers, over 60% said they see e-learning / virtual training being an ongoing part of their training requirements post COVID, showing the need to continue to offer a blended solution of training options to suit customer needs.
This trend is reflected in a continued increase in inquiries for Redline’s virtual, and elearning training courses since the start of the year. The most popular being: General Security Awareness Training (GSAT), Air Cargo, Known Consignor (KC), and the Aviation Security Manager Recurrent (ASMR) courses. Additionally, Redline have continued to deliver classroom courses, spanning the Recognition of Firearms and Explosive Instructors course, through to the Screening of Persons and their bags and possessions, throughout the pandemic, implementing and adhering to strict Covid secure environments.
Feedback from customers completing these courses with Redline through a virtual platform has been very positive, with one client who had taken three refresher courses previously, saying the Redline course was the best experience with improved course content better aimed at his role as an Airport Security Manager. Another candidate on the same course, who was experiencing virtual training for the first time, praised the Redline team for supporting her throughout the process, offering clear guidance and instructions on how to manage the platform, allowing her to concentrate on the course itself and the learning experience.
Paul Mason, Air Partner’s Safety & Security Division Managing Director said: “2020 was an extraordinary year. Our customers work in industries where skills and training are often a regulatory requirement and where compliance is a critical factor. We worked hard last year to adapt our course delivery options, so that we could support our customers with flexible, remote and blended training solutions to meet their needs.
“As aviation operations resume, our priority is to our customers and enabling them to re-start their businesses in complete confidence. At Redline we are committed to supporting them in critical safety training through e-learning and virtual training options. The positive feedback we’ve received, particularly for our virtual Aviation Security Managers course demonstrates that we can successfully deliver this training in an engaging, interactive and dynamic way. Supporting our customers in achieving full safety compliance is our key focus and we will continue to work with them to delivery critical training in a way that suits their needs and the needs of their business.”