Training & Development…

Blog Post #4

Training & Development…

So that cyclone drifted further east, meaning I never encountered those ‘1in3 year’ waves I was excited to see. Alas, these tame waves allow absolute newbies the chance to learn to surf! Yet to get on the board at the time of writing, but I have scoped out a teacher and should conditions prevail I’ll be having a lesson next weekend!

Whilst considering training options for learning to surf, idle thoughts at the back of my mind sprung into the spotlight. What other training needs do I have this year? No longer am I part of a large organisation with a training budget. No longer am I part of a large organisation with professional development plans. Sh#t. That’s alright George my mind whispered, you can develop your own training & development plan. Well yes, yes I can. So there we have it, I started to consider what training needs I have this year, where can I up-skill that is not only going to benefit myself, but any potential future clients. See below for my brainstorm thus far…

My previous employer, like most organisations, had a training limit. Each employee was only entitled to a certain amount of training, at the manager’s discretion, which in my instance was often quoted as 5 days per year. But now I am my own manager. It’s difficult to forecast annual cash flow when you are yet to complete a first year, let alone make accurate predictions up to the first 3 years. So what is an appropriate and affordable amount of training? Right now I’m not sure but what I can tell you is, instead of making calculations and estimations on training budgets, I am just going to up the ante. Let’s reign in some training!

In light of the upcoming round of Long Term Plans that most organisations will be preparing for, a fundamental aspect of this will be writing and updating Asset Management Plans, which will subsequently inform the LTP. So as you’ll see in the image above, Asset Management features regularly. I have decided to register for a number of asset management training courses, the first of which is in New Plymouth on Feb 21st. By complete coincidence, this training is on the same day just before Ben Harper is playing at the TSB Bowl in New Plymouth. Fate? Perhaps, perhaps not…

Another course that I will be registering for is an E-Learning course called Asset Management 101. This is part one of a series of Digital Badges that IPWEA released towards the end of last year. I was fortunate enough to make the guest-list last minute for the launch party, and it was great to hear how much hard work went into these badges that have been in the making for some time. Based on existing experience, and having completed a 10-week asset management course in the past I am confident in my ability with asset management, but nonetheless these digital badges will be a great refresher, and will also serve me well for my portfolio of training.

Whilst on the topic of training, I have been out of my usual action since May last year with what appears to be overuse injuries, supplemented by a minor mountain bike accident. Losing the last winter season for getting in the mountains really had an impact on me and tested my mental resilience. This year I have given myself 3 primary areas to focus on, one of which was: Look after your body. It’s great to be out running consistently again, and boy have I got some beautiful routes around Gisborne to enjoy. I have New Zealand’s shortest river on my doorstep. Travelling along a river from source to mouth is probably one of my biggest adventure fantasies, and one I hope to pursue indefinitely. However I can’t say that I imagined it quite as easy as this one…