The Air and Waste Management Association

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The Air and Waste Management Association An
Association of Professionals www.awma.org
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Purposes of Discussions

• Introduce the Air and Waste Management
  Association
• Describe training activities and available
  courses
• Discuss course development
• Describe training delivery structure
• Discuss audience and participants
• Describe incentives for training
• Discuss metrics of success

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About AWMA

• 100 years of environmental stewardship
• A global leader in environmental management
• A neutral forum for knowledge exchange and
  networking

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About AWMA

• Nearly 9000 members in 65 countries
• Broad range of members
• Government
• Industry
• Academia
• Consulting

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AWMA provides

• Information to advance an understanding of
  environmental issues
• Networking to expand opportunities
• Professional development to enhance careers

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Publications

• Keep members abreast of the most current
  environmental management news and scientific
  research
• Two monthly magazines, in print and online
• Journal of the Air Waste Management Association
  
• EM

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Online Library

• The Online Library provides a wealth of technical
  environmental education material, from books and
  CDs to downloadable PDF articles. It is a
  substantial and growing resource to environmental
  professionals around the world.

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Annual Conference Exhibition

• One of the worlds largest environmental
  management conferences, attracting thousands of
  environmental professionals
• 150 technical sessions on a range of issues, from
  air quality to integrated waste management
  strategies
• Exhibition is a dynamic showcase of environmental
  products, technology, and services
• Social programs and networking events

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Specialty Conferences

• First held in 1970
• 250 conferences held throughout the world
• Address timely, highly relevant issues such as
• Diesel technology
• Climate change
• Utility energy generation

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Workshops

• Topics of interest
• Expert speakers
• Several offerings

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Webcasts

• AWMA brings the information to participants
• Participate from the convenience of a home or
  office
• Stay abreast of topics, rules, regulations, and
  research
• Eliminate travel costs associated with
  traditional face-to-face courses
• Combines the internet for video with a telephone
  for audio 

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Webcasts

• Presentations typically last 2 hours
• One per month scheduled
• Audience from around the US and Canada
• Topics include new requirements, issues,
  monitoring procedures, case studies, dispersion
  modeling techniques, etc.
• More than 20 have been offered
• Visual CDs are available

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Training Activities

• Online training courses
• Continuing education courses

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E-Learning Center

• Online Training Courses
• Course brought to students
• Learn from the convenience of home or office
• Stay abreast of rules, regulations, and research
• Eliminate travel costs associated with
  traditional face-to-face courses
• Courses listed in Professional Development
  Catalog

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Continuing Education Courses

• Live professional development training by
  national experts
• Courses at conferences and by appointment
  usually 1 to 2 days long
• Support the Qualified Environmental Professional
  (QEP) and Certified Hazardous Materials Manager
  (CHMM) professional certifications
• Continuing education credit for a number of
  disciplines

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How many and what type of AQM training courses
have been developed that are of relevance to AQM
in China?

• 70 courses listed in catalog
• 50 courses could be relevant for AQM in China
• Courses listed in Professional Development Catalog

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Professional Development Catalog

• Live Professional Development Courses
  (http//www.awma.org/files/education/prof_dev_cata
  log_final.pdf)
• Courses developed by experts
• Cover topics in
• Air Pollution Control
• Waste Management
• Environmental Management and Policy
• Professional Certification

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Course development

• Who develops the courses?
• Courses and course materials developed by
  instructors who are experts in topic area
• Courses and course materials belong to
  instructors
• How is course development financed?
• Instructors receive payment when course is
  conducted
• Are training needs assessments conducted prior to
  course development?
• Courses are selected to match venue
• Instructors identified or volunteer

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Training delivery structure

• What is the training delivery institutional
  structure?
• Training need and potential instructor identified
  by AWMA headquarters staff and volunteers in
  Education Council
• Course scheduled in conjunction with meeting
• Staff handles registration, collects fees,
  prepares copies of course material for students,
  issues certificates
• Alternatively, AWMA serves as a broker
• Course identified and instructor hired
• For example, such courses were conducted in
  Minneapolis and in Bahrain and are scheduled for
  Ohio and Michigan
• Describe the system for delivery of training
  structured or ad-hoc?
• Structured

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Training delivery structure (continued)

• What is the system of training delivery (e.g.,
  training of trainers)?
• Train the trainer has not been done by AWMA
• Has not been needed for training in US and Canada
• Instructors usually have experience in conducting
  courses or presenting workshops
• Training is done with a classroom format (if
  associated with conference). Webcast format is
  being considered for other types of venues
• Is it centralized or decentralized?
• Centralized

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Training delivery structure (continued)

• Is there a national secretariat?
• AWMA headquarters personnel and staff schedule
  courses and handle registration
• Are universities involved in the training?
• Universities are not involved in the training
  although professors may develop courses and may
  be experts who are called upon to provide
  instruction on a topic
• Does training of trainers actually work?
• This has not been done by AWMA
• Has not been needed for training in US and Canada

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Training the Trainers

• Although our background and our experience in
  training has been that we have not had a need to
  train the trainer, we can assist to tailor a
  program that will work in China
• Training courses and other learning material can
  be made appropriate for training trainers
• Material is all in English
• An 'intermediary' will be necessary to implement
  broader training in other languages
• Adapt training to local needs

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Beneficiaries of the training or training
participants

• Who are the beneficiaries of the training?
• Though students most often come from consulting
  firms or industry, government personnel also
  attend.
• Are different types of courses delivered
  depending on the type of beneficiary or training
  participants?
• Depends on topic
• Depends on how course or workshop is set up

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Incentives

• What incentives are in place to encourage people
  to undergo training (e.g., certification system,
  promotion requirements)?
• Requirements for continued training and education
  of certification systems (PE, BCEE, QEP, CHMM)
• Requirements for completing job or securing
  promotion
• Professional growth
• What incentives are in place to motivate
  organizations to send their staff for training?
• Staff retention
• Litigation
• Changes in requirements
• Budget
• Legislative mandates

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Financing

• Where does the budget for the course development,
  training delivery, and maintaining the training
  structure come from?
• Association Budget
• Registration Fees
• Contract

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Financing (continued)

• How much is the annual budget and how does this
  translate into number of courses delivered and
  number of people trained per year?
• AWMA is a not-for-profit association of
  professionals
• Training is provided by members for members and
  others
• Though staff is assigned, training is principally
  pay as you go.
• In 2005, 40 courses were conducted for 240
  students

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Metrics of success

• What are the measures of success that the
  training system keeps track of?
• Association tracks names of students and test
  scores (if any).
• Association tracks comments received
• To evaluate course for future delivery and
• To evaluate effectiveness of instructor

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Key lessons for AQM training in China

• What are the top do's and don'ts in setting up an
  AQM training system in China
• Develop priority list of key topics for which
  training is necessary, identify experts, and
  request that they develop and provide training
• Dont assume an expert is a good instructor or a
  good course developer.
• Keep abreast of current events and issues.
• Tie training to conferences
• Consider refresher courses and updates for the
  more experienced staff. Peer communication and
  interaction are good training tools
• Learn from mistakes of others