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National certification training helps members improve facilitation skills

June 2, 2006 - A group of state employees from several agencies participated in a week-long training to prepare to become certified facilitators. This world-class training was made possible through a partnership between the Ohio Quality Network (OQN), the State of Ohio Training Association (SOTA) and the Department of Natural Resources. 

The Ohio Quality Network is a group of labor and management quality coordinators who work within their agencies to preserve the quality initiative.

Richard Smith from Leadership Strategies conducted the training at the OCSEA Headquarters May 22 - 26.

When talking about this group of students,the instructor conveyed that he was surprised at how much experience they had with the general knowledge of facilitation.  

“They were always willing to try new things,” Smith observed. “One thing about working with public servants – they chose to be public servants and want to make a difference.  They are more selfless.”
 
The learning objectives of the course, The Effective Facilitator, were to:

• define the role of the facilitator;
• identify the key facilitation; principles,
• describe the best practices related to each principle; and
• provide students with facilitation practice and performance feedback.

Cornelius McGrady, III, Chapter President Chapter 2545 State Office Tower said this training would be valuable for other OCSEA leaders because he felt it would strengthen their personal skills to communicate.

“This is a much more up-tempo training than I am used to, ” McGrady said. “It encompasses a lot of techniques and I would recommend it to new chapter leaders.”

Cynthia Robertson, Chapter 2545 and a member of the OQN, agreed, "We learned so much even though several of us have been facilitating for years. The consensus was that this was the most valuable training many in the group had ever had."

The SOTA president, Shelly Smith, said, “This is excellent hands-on learning even if you have prior training. If you want to improve you ability to communicate professionally or personally, this is the place to start."

Smith added, "We talked about how it helps within the family, with volunteer work and professionally."

It is the goal of the training sponsors to offer this training again, possibly in the fall, when the union's education trust (Article 37) is up and running. Soon after, the second level training may be planned and scheduled for these students who want to continue to a higher level of certification.

See Related

About the trainer, Richard Smith

Website - Leadership Strategies: The Facilitation Company

Website - Ohio Quality Network