Helping the RAF Make the Shift to Virtual Training

We all know that 2020 was the biggest shake up to the working world in our lifetime. When RAF Training Officer, Vee Howe, got in touch with The Virtual Training Team in early 2021, she told us about the dramatic changes to learning in the RAF caused by the pandemic. They had quickly transitioned from ‘chalk and talk’ classroom training to needing to innovate when providing education and training. Under normal circumstances, such dramatic changes to entire organisations take a lot of time and planning but COVID forced the RAF to make changes overnight.

The RAF tried to move their training online and virtual, but they knew they needed professional intervention to motivate and inspire instructors and training staff. They needed a consistent approach, a toolkit of best practices, and ideas to really embrace this new, non-traditional way of training and learning.

Vee consulted with our team to map out their specific requirements and create a plan of action. Many people in the organisation needed to be reached quickly and any training provided needed to be adapted to the unique needs of the RAF.

the metrics

Coaches 2

Sessions 12

Participants 900+

challenge

The training had to be adapted to the RAF’s unique needs
The sessions were to be attended by a large number of participants
Both the creation of the training materials, as well as all training delivery, needed to be completed in a very short period of time

Solution

A series of interactive webinars in true VTT style – fun, engaging and interactive; bursting with conversation and interactivity
Inspired by our Virtual Train The Trainer Programme, the webinars focused on virtual training delivery, design and creating interaction
Three further interactive webinars covering the topics of Innovation, Collaboration and Curating Learning

Result

The RAF reported that training communities applied changes straight away – successful learning transfer was achieved
Delegates felt empowered to be innovative and began to embrace the new way of working and collaborating
The RAF decided to switch to virtual training on a permanent basis and are making necessary changes to their infrastructure