Context

The Training-of-Trainers (ToT) course on business resilience standards is an activity under Component 1 of the Project “WB6 QI Response to Covid-19” (SEE QI 8). The SEE QI 8 project is implemented under the SEE QI Regional Consultancy Fund (SEE QI Fund) by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in cooperation with six Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia). It is financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Component 1 of the SEE QI project aims to support QI institutions in mitigating the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Objectives

The objective of the course is to build capacity in the area of business resilience standards in the Western Balkan countries in order to support businesses in mitigating the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic with support of quality infrastructure (QI) services such as standards and certifications.

Advantages of the course

• Comprehensive package of standards as they relate to business resilience
• Focus on pre-selected aspects of the standards most relevant for businesses in the context of the challenges faced during the Covid-19 pandemic
• Interactive virtual training approach
• Practical orientation through piloting of the training and case studies
• Regional experts who are familiar with the local context
• Regional network of experts working in the field of management standards
• Facilitation of contact to potential clients

Subject matter & preliminary course programme

The course will cover several standards and topics related to business resilience. It is divided in 8 training modules of 2 sessions of 3-hour duration each. The training sessions will take place on Thursdays 13:00-16:00.

The first session of each module consists of training. At the end of the session a practical exercise is assigned to be completed by the participants until the second session. The second session of each module is dedicated to in-depth discussion of the assignments and other practical application issues and ends with a short quiz.

Target group

The course is targeted to current or aspiring technical auditors, technical assessors, and consultants/trainers for businesses from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia (WB6).

The number of participants is capped at 30, ideally 5 participants per WB6 country.

Additional future technical auditors/ assessors might join individual trainings on request of WB6 National Accreditation / Certification Bodies. 

Prerequisites and Requirements for lecturers and trainees

Lecturers

The course is taught by experts from the Western Balkan countries with the support of Mr. Hanspeter Ischi, consultant for Conformity Assessment, Management and Organizational Development. The profiles of the experts can be found here.

Trainers will be required to submit a text with the training content and the training material (PPT, exercises) which will be compiled in a handbook to be made available for use in future trainings in the Western Balkan countries and beyond. Mr Hanspeter Ischi will provide editorial guidance and peer review to ensure uniformity and consistency across the publication.

Trainees

In order to be eligible to enroll in the ToT course, participants should have:

• Experience in management and/or training
• Be able to read the respective standards
• Understand the working context of industries and businesses
• Possess working knowledge of English
• Have possible areas of application of the newly gained knowledge

We believe that the diversity of a participant group is an important success factor.  Therefore, we encourage applications from interested persons from various backgrounds: all Western Balkan countries, all genders, age groups and years of professional experience, professional background from industry, consulting business, academia, or other.

Trainees commit to:

• Participate in all training modules and complete assignments;
• Conduct a pilot activity in one company (either a training for one of the standards or consultancy on implementation of one of the standards) in May/June 2021
• Report on the experience in a 1-2 page case study to be published in the handbook
• Take a short quiz at the end of each training module.

Outputs

• Certificate of Participation issued by PTB
• Pilot trainings/consultancies in Western Balkan businesses
• Handbook with written contributions and presentations to be used for training and consulting of businesses

In the beginning and end of the SEE QI 8 project a virtual conference will bring together the experts/trainees with QI institutions and businesses from WB6 countries. This will facilitate the user centered approach of the ToT, the promotion of the (newly trained) trainers for business resilience standards and the promotion of the outputs of the SEE QI 8 project.

The registration for the SEE QI 8 Kick-off conference in March 2021 is open.

Fees

The course is offered free of charge through the financial support of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ).

Language

The language of instruction is English.

How to Apply

Interested participants should apply by filling out an application form (the form will be available in mid-January). The application consists of several short questions on the professional background, motivation and expectations and how and where the participants intend to apply the training knowledge.

The final group of participants will be selected by the SEE QI project team by 08.02.2021.