What is CIHT Learn?

It’s a new online platform that allows people to learn in bite-sized chunks. We’re offering a wide range of resources and also the ability for CIHT members to track their own continual professional development. It’s designed to be convenient, accessible and a modern VR-based platform for busy individuals and practitioners in the transportation industry.

Why was it created?

It was a combination of CIHT wanting to build the platform and there being demand for one from members. One of our core strategic aims is to equip people with the skills they need – and we also want to promote education and training. CIHT had never delivered actual training itself, so we felt there was a big opportunity for us. We found there were skills that members needed that weren’t being provided, so we conducted focus groups and undertook surveys with our members. From the results, it was quite clear that there was a lot of appetite and interest for what eventually became CIHT Learn.

What is the main advantage of this fresh approach to learning within CIHT?

In our research of online learning, we found that most people could only spare around 20 minutes of learning time each week. That's been pivotal in how CIHT Learn has been designed because we wanted to make sure users could watch or listen to a webinar or podcast, or complete a 10-minute learning module with ease

Is it open to non-CIHT members?

Yes, we're actively promoting all the courses to those outside CIHT – barring two, which are locked down specifically just for members. The majority of the courses that are available to non-members have costs involved, but we want prospective members to see the value and benefits of joining.

What is the breadth of the training offered?

There are currently 10 courses available to members at the moment, but that is just the starting point. We are planning to grow and evolve the platform, with many different ideas and initiatives, such as competency-based frameworks. At the moment, there are no qualifications attached to the learning, but the content is meeting the needs of what people want.

What courses are available?

We’ve looked specifically at what CIHT members require and how they can improve their skills, whether that be professional, technological or anything else. The 10 courses currently available include sustainable transport, carbon literacy, EDI, preparing for a professional review and cyber security

How will the content evolve?

The modules will all be reviewed annually to make sure they are still relevant. Some of them will be time-sensitive and others might be superseded with content that has more detail, or includes new developments or rules that have been brought in. One example is electric cars - there’s a lot of work in that area, so it’s essential that we give CIHT members the most up-to-date information that we have.

How do you convince people who may be unwilling to get involved with online learning?

One of the main things is to emphasise the ability to learn in small timescales. Users can see that each module is only going to require around 15 minutes of learning, so they won’t be put off that it will take hours.

We're trying to make it engaging and offer people the ability to learn in different ways. There are videos, quizzes and other ways of consuming the content. Plus, people are able to access CIHT Learn on tablets and smartphones, so they will be able to do the learning whenever and wherever they like.

Thanks to Carrie Playford, digital learning and content manager, CIHT and Peter Connolly, director of corporate and business services, CIHT, for their input.