2 training officers?

[steve-k]

is there a need for 2 training officers in a smal club? (30 divers)

i dont understand how there can be 2 training officers and keep the deigation of responsabilities?

anybody had any experiance with this?

steve

[Edward]

Hi Steve,

Whether a Branch has none, 1, 2 or more Training Officers is a matter for the Diving Officer, and only the Diving Officer. As for delegation the Diving Officer must be specific when assigning the Training Officer's role irrespective of how many they decide to have.

One Branch I belonged to had a Training Officer for each diver grade, there were only 45 diving members.

Edward

[Andy Wade]

is there a need for 2 training officers in a smal club? (30 divers)

i dont understand how there can be 2 training officers and keep the deigation of responsabilities?

anybody had any experiance with this?

steve

Yep.
One looked after all the theory and the other looked after all the pool training.
They both shared the open water stuff.
This 'diving club' game is voluntary and people may give as little or as much time to it as they wish.
And as Edward says, this is a matter for the branch DO, who may appoint as many TO's as they wish.

[Odin]

A "Co-ordinator" for each grade - under the guidance of the a TO is a good way.

[Janos]

We have three!

One doing pool and theory, the other open water, and the third odds and sods such as SDCs.

Communication between the TOs is obviously very important and with the right people it can work well.

Janos

[PeteM]

Hi Steve,

Whether a Branch has none, 1, 2 or more Training Officers is a matter for the Diving Officer, and only the Diving Officer. As for delegation the Diving Officer must be specific when assigning the Training Officer's role irrespective of how many they decide to have.

One Branch I belonged to had a Training Officer for each diver grade, there were only 45 diving members.

Edward

In our branch we have had an assistant TO who was in charge of pool lessons and lectures. At present I am in charge of Nitrox lessons (although without an official title)

[Tony Dwyer]

I'm the T/O of our branch and I have an assistant, and very able she is too.

She looks after the admin and record keeping. Keeps track of who is where in the DTP and chases down instructors.

This enables me to get on with actual training. Being an ADI, she helps with that too.

I don't know how I managed without her! :)

[Lou Whitehouse]

I think at the moment you could say that we have 4. One who looks after all the training for the new divers each year, one who looks after the people with existing qualifications that join us and does DL and AD training, one who deals with SDCs and this year we introduced another one to help the first two as they had so much to do last year.

However we do have 150 members, take on around 50 new divers each year and another 30 or so with previous qualifications, then there's there people that are already members...

It works pretty well for us, I make sure that they all know what's expected of them and make sure things run smoothly and everything generally gets done without too much stress or confusion :)

Cheers
Lou

[AndyXB]

Hi Steve

As you can see from the replies, it all depends on the size of your branch and how the branch is managed. What works for one club may not work for another.
I was involved with one branch a couple of years ago where there was one Training Officer with lead instructors for each grade. Now I the Diving Officer for a new'ish' branch with 25 members, and myself and the Training Officer work together to co-ordinate all of the training activities. Both of these systems work well as long as there is effective communication / co-ordination for all involved.
If you have an issue with the way your branch is being managed, perhaps to should talk to your DO / TO's in a constructive manor (sorry I don't mean to sound condescending) to resolve the problem.

Hope this helps

Andy

[TerryH]

Depends on size, but I actually think that 2 is a good idea.

I'd go with:
Training Officer - Ocean + Sports + Pool
Advanced Training Officer - DL, Adv + SDC's

Roles must be defined, but as long as each knows what his/her remit is then
no probs.

T.

[steve-k]

Thanks for the reply

I am the training officer for the branch and have been for the past year with no problems

The branch DO announced a new training officer (to work alongside me) with no previous consultation with me or the committee, when asked how the responsibilities would be split i was told to work it out with the new training officer

The new training officer won’t be available for the majority of the training due to work commitments, maybe the odd sdc or open water session

In my opinion this was political and nothing to do with the training, i just wanted some feedback before i said anything:cool:

Thx Steve

[Adrian Kelland]

Thanks for the reply

I am the training officer for the branch and have been for the past year with no problems

The branch DO announced a new training officer (to work alongside me) with no previous consultation with me or the committee, when asked how the responsibilities would be split i was told to work it out with the new training officer

The new training officer won’t be available for the majority of the training due to work commitments, maybe the odd sdc or open water session

In my opinion this was political and nothing to do with the training, i just wanted some feedback before i said anything:cool:

Thx Steve
Well he doesn't have to, but is rather stupid not to.

I wonder why the DO did not just put this other person in place instead of you? Sadly for you it does seem like petty politics at play. I hope you find a satisfactory resolution.

Adrian

[Andy Wade]

Thanks for the reply

I am the training officer for the branch and have been for the past year with no problems

The branch DO announced a new training officer (to work alongside me) with no previous consultation with me or the committee, when asked how the responsibilities would be split i was told to work it out with the new training officer

The new training officer won’t be available for the majority of the training due to work commitments, maybe the odd sdc or open water session

In my opinion this was political and nothing to do with the training, i just wanted some feedback before i said anything:cool:

Thx Steve

I agree, this does sound political if the DO didn't discuss it with you first.
That shows a distinct lack of courtesy, and IMHO there's no excuse for a lack of courtesy.
I'd speak one to one with the DO (invite her/him around your house for a cuppa - then they're in your territory.
Ask them point blank why they didn't discuss it with you first. Not because they have to 'ask your permission', but because you feel agrieved that they just 'dropped it on you' without telling you, and that you feel embarrassed and upset that the DO chose to undermine you in this way. Maybe they didn't actually intend to do that, but that's how you see it.
You might also mention that you aren't unhappy about working with someone else but would have liked to have a meeting with all parties concerned before this was announced. It looks unprofessional to just announce to the whole branch that there is another TO being added and that the existing TO is just as surprised as everyone else, highlights a lack of communication.
IME communications breakdowns are the cause of more strife in branches than anything else.
I hope you can sort this out.
Good luck, I feel you may need it. It may sound like a really hard thing to do, but clearing the air will be better for everyone.
That it's you clearing the air shows your mettle and makes your DO look a little bit of a prat, (which IMHO they are).

Regards, Andy.
Agony Aunt :D

[Nigel Hewitt]

Sadly in a lot of clubs the DO is chosen as the only guy who is qualified to do the job that didn't refuse flat. People skills don't even come into the equation. Put up with the eccentricities, they probably aren't deliberate.

Conversely we have a guy who loves to dive, loves to take people diving, loves to train and thinks working hard for the club after doing a days office work is wonderful. Personally I think he has a screw loose (Hi Tim!) but it works well for the club so I'm not complaining.

[steve-k]

thx again

it is political
and unfortunatley it spoils the diving/training

reading between the lines i was having my hands slapped for standing against him at a committee meeting, dont you just love club politics:p

i was going to stand down but, 1 thats what he wanted, 2 the club would suffer untill a replacement could be found with available time, & 3 i enjoy training

thankfully the DO has to stand down at the next AGM (3 months) then all this will resolve itself

i have never put much merit on the official titles, to me your actions speek more than a title, it's just that this was a bit of a smack in the mouth,

sorry for ranting on here
steve

[Ed Howarth]

I've been TO at two clubs (not at the same time!) and it makes me realise how lucky I've been with DO's. It should be a pairing based on trust and respect.

I know what I'd do in your situation (if it doesn't resolve itself). For pity's sake, we do this as a hobby!

Ed

[Andy Wade]

Sadly in a lot of clubs the DO is chosen as the only guy who is qualified to do the job that didn't refuse flat. People skills don't even come into the equation. Put up with the eccentricities, they probably aren't deliberate.

Conversely we have a guy who loves to dive, loves to take people diving, loves to train and thinks working hard for the club after doing a days office work is wonderful. Personally I think he has a screw loose (Hi Tim!) but it works well for the club so I'm not complaining.

I was that person on 7 occasions, and TO on 4 occasions. :eek:
It is a thankless task, but no more or less that the TO's job.
Eccentricities are one thing, discourtesy is quite another. :(