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I am the CC for two Troops.  Recently I have been checking on our leadership training and found that a few Committee Members and the SM have not completed their Position Specific Training, SM after a year hasn't even attempted.  

So, the I guess guideline is that this training is supposed to be completed within 30 days of the application being accepted or something to that effect.

 

I am going to bring this up in the next Committee Meeting and strongly suggest everyone gets caught up on the required training for their position.  I am even going to give 30 days get it done.  What do we, the Committee do if these leaders blow it off and laugh while saying they just aren't gonna do it?

 

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38 minutes ago, 5thGenTexan said:

I am the CC for two Troops.  Recently I have been checking on our leadership training and found that a few Committee Members and the SM have not completed their Position Specific Training, SM after a year hasn't even attempted.  

So, the I guess guideline is that this training is supposed to be completed within 30 days of the application being accepted or something to that effect.

 

I am going to bring this up in the next Committee Meeting and strongly suggest everyone gets caught up on the required training for their position.  I am even going to give 30 days get it done.  What do we, the Committee do if these leaders blow it off and laugh while saying they just aren't gonna do it?

 

Why bother with the training?  Because it will help you deliver the best program for your Scouts.  Try to appeal to them that way.  Threats and ultimata in a volunteer organization will never accomplish your ends...

What will you do?  That depends... do you have someone to replace them who is willing to take the training??  (You do not have to be in a position to accomplish the training... if you have someone who wants the position, ask them to complete the training first to show their commitment, then put them in the position.  If only the world was that simple, right?) 

"Enforcement" varies council to council.  Ours says they are like @qwazse's but they have never enforced it.  Honestly, they cannot afford to.  Many units are barely hanging on with the minimum leaders on the charter.  (Scouting according to BSA policies is a complex undertaking.)

The council (and possibly your unit) is better off with an untrained leader, than with no leader in the position at all.  Choose wisely, and best of luck.

 

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For clarification, for the SM are we talking the online portion or IOLS? I won't defend it, but it can be hard to attend an IOLS depending on when your council runs it. I had to go out of council to complete mine.

For recalcitrant CM, you can do the in person training over time. Just show the videos one or two at a time and complete it that way.

Edit:
One good motivation for at least the SM getting IOLS training is insurance/lawsuit defense. IE if something happens then being able to say that you are following all the recommended BSA rules and made the best judgements possible in a given situation based on BSA training can help. One local troop had a death on a campout (tree fell on a tent) and being able to reference the BSA outdoor training helped protect the leaders.

Edited by malraux
forgot a point.
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Yes, the ITOLS cause can take some time to complete as that is a physical, weekend long class. In one council I was in, it was offered 2 times a year. Another council I was in, each district offered it once per year.

And I would double check your records. None of my committee members are "trained," yet all of them have been to WB and have years of experience in various Scouting roles.

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SM took IOLS and Cub Specific Training in 2016.  Absolutely nothing since then other than YPT.  Same SM that has not had a real PLC since he started a year ago.  Also lets us know when and where campouts will be, sometimes two days before the event.  He NEEDS the training.

Committee members just havent done it and they dont have years and years of experience.  Some are the same that suggested to me and another leader we just plan the meetings for the Scouts because kids cant pay that much attention and they want to play.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Doing the online training is easy. You can cut it up into roughly 15min chunks and get it done in your downtime in 3 weeks(ish). SMs have a different problem; as I understand the policy a ScoutMaster must have IOLS to hold the position in a trained status; I've heard various things over the years from councils not rechartering units with untrained SMs, I have even heard that the BSA umbrella policy doesn't cover units with SMs that do not have IOLS. 

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