Sector Specific training is in demand. Generic standardised training is out dated. People attend training courses because they want to acquire knowledge in an area that they know little about or want to refine their expertise within.
As individuals, we acquire knowledge so that we can grow and adapt to our ever-changing environment. Therefore, we want to know how best to apply everything that we learn. Delegates attend training courses to improve their performance of their individual role within a specific industry or to help them plan their long-term career objectives.
Customised training programmes that are tailored to individual companies, sectors, product types and services are highly sought after. Human Factors Practitioners want to know how to apply the tools, methods and techniques they have read about to specific projects that they are working on.
The demand for knowledge in Human Factors continues to rise and the role of a Human Factors Practitioner is also growing, changing and continually morphing into newer hybrid roles.
The current education system in the UK is not set-up for training Human Factors Practitioners early in their career. The discipline is not offered until University and there are limited Higher Education Courses available. Even the most well-known BSc (hons) Ergonomics (Human Factors Design) Degree course offered by Loughborough has officially been discontinued and the BSc (Hons) Design Ergonomics has now been replaced by the User Centred Design Course.
Most Human Factors Practitioners start their careers after higher education. Practitioners often transition into the role from other areas such as Product Design, Industrial Design, Engineering and Psychology. Individuals who find themselves moving into the Human Factors domain can feel overwhelmed at the start. Companies apply the same level of pressure to carry out the role as those who have been studying the discipline for a number of years. This pressure forces practitioners to learn fast and acquire as much knowledge as they can quickly.
Some individuals will take on Human Factors work in addition to their existing role or find that their role changes to become more Human Factors oriented. These individuals tend to come from other industry backgrounds such as Clinical Specialists, Risk Management Experts, Product and Programme Managers, Software etc. This approach can lead to more diverse roles developing within Human Factors.
The lack of diverse education programmes for practitioners and the push to develop practitioners quickly within an organisation has led to agencies and companies creating both; specialist in-house training programmes and external certification schemes.
These Practitioner programmes often focus on the fundamental aspects of Human Factors. However, in well-established Human Factors domains such as Medical and Defence, fundamentals courses only satisfy individuals who are new to the discipline and not the individuals who require additional support and growth.
The 70:20:10 Adult learning model created by Morgan McCall and the Centre for Creative Leadership is a commonly used formula within adult learning and training. The model works on the following basis:
- 70% of all learning is gained through practical experience
- 20% is learned from communicating with others
- 10% of all learning is gained through a prescribed curriculum
This model is considered to be highly effective in training a workforce as it assists individuals to shape and refine their own job roles, interact with others and make decisions.
At the Human Factors Centre, all of our courses are designed to be practical based to give practitioners hand on experience demonstrating what they learn in the course and having the opportunity to learn from others to deepen their understanding. We believe in an agile approach to training and ensure that each of our courses are continually updated to keep in-line with changes happening in industry.
If you are interested in finding out more about our training, please contact info@humanfactorscentre.co.uk or check out our training page on the website at www.humanfactorscentre.co.uk.