My everyday job has various tasks, projects, and requirements; they all revolve around personnel development and growth however. I am responsible for the development and continued growth of a varied group of individuals, ranging widely in demographics. With differing levels of experience, skills and knowledge, not to mention generational, social, and cultural differences, standardizing a learning management system can be challenging.

While I can easily work at an individual level with any of these guys to address any gaps in skills or knowledge with hands on training, it’s not very efficient. Especially when these 100+ individuals are geographically spread out all over creation, not to mention constantly moving. I have to find a way to cast a wide net to catch these individuals simultaneously. This is where a distributed learning management system comes in.

I got my feet wet with eLearning modules to send out through our existing system that is severely lacking, but in place nonetheless. Soon after I followed up the eLearning modules with skills training videos demonstrating specific tasks, repairs and maintenance procedures. Now it’s time to get into the more esoteric learning: theory, principles and fundamentals. High level concepts that apply widely to most if not all aspects of Marine Engineering.

This brings me to where I stand today, developing engaging training over less than engaging topics. The basics of troubleshooting, various mechanical concepts, the simple machines, learning how to learn, soft skills such as business writing and interpersonal relationship building. Stuff that if you’re not already drawn to by natural curiosity can be mundane and tedious. But I have to start somewhere, these things are important, and more than some of the people I am beholden to are working with a high school or lower level education. I love our guys, they’re the main reason I have lasted over a decade in this industry, but some of them ended up in the roles they hold today because they didn’t fit the mold of traditional education and societal norms. Due to the nature of the positions they hold, we are better for it, them having these personal characteristics. It’s just another of the unique challenges I face, and adds some spice to the palate of my role.

The Hierarchy of Learning

Before I can make a lasting impact and enact real change I have to understand, at least at a basic level, how individuals like this learn and grow in the context of a professional setting pertaining to the requirements of their roles. I have been tossing this idea around in my head for a while, this idea of a hierarchy of learning. A fundamental truth, cast wide enough to encompass all the differences visible in our personnel files, but able to be presented in a concise, easy to digest manner that will lay foundational stones for the future. Think something that rings true, but can be taught with a simple infographic.

To me it starts with two questions. “Do you know what to do?” “Do you know how to do it?” There is a third part of this “Do you do it” but that does not apply to a learning system. The “it” in these questions is actually a multi-faceted concept, and relates to the expectations of the role. Further breaking this down, getting to the meat of the subject is a flow path of ascension to greatness. Ok, cheesy lines aside, breaking down the questions at hand and understanding how on-the-job training goes in this industry leaves me with a useful flow path to work with: Placement -> Exposure -> Experience -> Knowledge.

This is where I am as of today. I am still kicking around what all this means for my system and how I will proceed. More to come as I work through this demon of mine.