Practicing Leadership: The Foreman Development Series
The electrical training ALLIANCE is excited to announce the continuation of the leadership course topics within the Blended Learning System. At the beginning of 2018 the ALLIANCE released the Preparing for Leadership course, which is intended to be taught in apprenticeship and, as the name indicates, prepare students for the opportunity, after they become Journey-level workers, to lead others. This course is very centered on personal qualities such as character and integrity, among others. Now we move into the more tactical skill of foremanship with our newest release.
The Practicing Leadership: Foreman’s Development Series (FDS) course was created as a joint collaboration between the IBEW 7th District and NECA’s 5th District and consists of 16 three-hour modules where foremen and Journeymen participate in an action-learning atmosphere of teaching and discussion focused on industry “best practices.” This class has been enhanced with online content to allow for a more productive classroom.
When transitioned to a Blended Learning series of courses (rather than one long 16-module course), the overall course was broken down into five smaller courses. This arrangement allows for a local JATC to teach either a specific set of topics or the entire course. The main goal in creating the five levels was accessibility rather than limitation. These courses DO NOT have to be taught sequentially; local areas should decide their local needs and address them as necessary.
The students in the Blended Learning version of the class will be able to participate in the lecture portion whenever and wherever this is convenient for them. In addition to the lecture portion, the Blended Learning version of the FDS classes have access to real world scenarios that force the student in the class to confront common jobsite situations. They also have access to all the handouts traditionally available in the classroom.
Classrooms, along with on-the-job training, are ideal places for craftsmen and women to acquire knowledge by discussing real-life examples with the free exchange of ideas. The program provides an overview of the duties and responsibilities of the foreman on a typical job and how the implementation of industry “best practices” can improve competitiveness in the construction marketplace. The series does not present a particular, or individual, point of view; it was crafted with input from a variety of industry experts.
This course is meant to follow the TTT model — in that instructors of this course should have completed the face-to-face Train-the Trainer course in advance of teaching this to students in their local areas. More information about when/where these courses are offered can be obtained by viewing the IBEW 7th District website.