How to Ensure Quality in Online Courses
How do you know the training company you use for fire safety, health and safety, food hygiene and inductions is always providing the most up-to-date information and legislation on safety? In fact, how do you know any training you take part in is teaching you the correct points?
Some subject areas have specific awarding bodies or organisations that can carry out inspections and award proof of training standards. Some companies employ experts to review their material. And some companies have to rely on customer ratings, reviews and recommendations.
Since there is no specific body to audit online safety courses we try and incorporate many different methods to ensure that our content is up-to-date, relevant and accurate.
Back when Esky first launched we were pioneers in our field. The Royal Institute for Public Health (now the Royal Society for Public Health) had been auditing classroom-based courses for a long time, and began to audit our online courses. We sent them our course scripts, they checked for accuracy, provided any information on new legislation, and then approved us once the new information had been added. In return, we were able to use the RIPH logo on our website and certificates as proof of quality. Unfortunately, rogue companies started using the RIPH logo without having been audited, and the RIPH eventually withdrew their auditing services of online training because of this.
Since then, we have been using two main methods to ensure accuracy in our courses.
Firstly, we send our scripts to independent Environmental Health Officers who are members of both the RSPH and the CIEH. They review the courses, send new legislation for inclusion, and approve us.
Secondly, we are CPD Certified. This means that the CPD Certification Service have reviewed our courses and are happy they meet the standards we promote.
On top of all this, most of our new customers come from word-of-mouth recommendations, and many customers return to renew their certificates regularly, proving that our system works and companies all over the UK are happy with the quality of training we provide.
