We’ve sat down for a Q&A with SAMS Limited Operations and training Director Lee Sadd to see how his health and safety training company have dealt with educating people and companies on a variety of courses.
Q: Hi Lee, Thank you for taking the time to chat with us. Our first question is how are things going for SAMS since we’ve come out of lockdown and people have gone back to work.
A: It was a very difficult period from March to May when we were at the height of lockdown. I had to make the decision to furlough all of my employees like many other businesses. Since then we have adapted our training outlay and opposed to clients coming into our offices we’ve taken quick and decisive action to go online for 7 of our most prominent courses which in include CITB, IOSH and NEBOSH training. Luckily after May and the introduction of online training we have had a positive upturn in business.
Q: What lead you to moving the course online as we know previously CITB was only a face-to-face option?
A: The great news for us was that CITB made the decision to move their courses online, which was crucial to SAMS. I think this was a major step in the right direction and massively helped us to sustain custom over lockdown.
With our clients a majority of them are in the construction industry and continued to work even when other sectors were on hold. So the training requirement was still there and we actually saw an increase after May as sadly many people who’s jobs had been lost due to the pandemic moved into our industry, as it was still vibrant. Another successful course, which we are proud to offer, is our mental health first aid training. With the current situation it has left a lot of people needing assistance so we were so pleased to help guide companies and people through this.
Q: How do your clients find the online training?
A: They love it! It’s great for them as they can learn from us in the comfort of their own homes. I’ve noticed that people are more willing to speak up through the course online as opposed to in person. It also really helps the UK as no travel is required. What’s been great for us is we can now train people all over Great Britain. We’ve had clients from as far as Scotland attend our courses.
I do miss the face-to-face interaction but over the last few months we have successfully made a safe and covid secure workspace, which will mean from October 1st we can welcome people back to our HQ in Manston.
Q: Do you think Zoom training for this sector is here to stay?
A: In short, I don’t know. I think the CITB have been fantastic in how they have allowed the training to be completed remotely so that students can earn the qualifications required to carry out their role.
The feedback we have from people has been brilliant and that cannot be ignored. However at the same time if awarding bodies decide face-to-face is the best way to be educated they will revert.
In my personal opinion I think it will stay as the last 6 months have show that it works. From a business perspective we find the online course very fruitful as we have a much larger reach of people that we can train.
We’re looking forward to January 2021 as we resume our classroom NEBOSH training that is a great course for aspiring safety professionals.
For more information on the online training course offered by SAMS Ltd please visit www.samsltd.co.uk or call 01843 821406.