«

»

Should it be a pass/fail?

Let me pose a question followed by rationale that could go either way.

A student registers for an executive protection school and pays the money that he/she has saved for months because schools are expensive and many are way over priced.

The student arrives early and exhibits the zeal and interest that most students do when they spend their own money. This is in stark contrast from the mood of someone that is forced to attend a training, where they always think they could spend their time wisely elsewhere.

The student gets through the class room evolution and there are no signs of any issues. He/she participates in the advance work portion with his team and you hear murmurs that he/she was not a team player.

You then proceed to the AOPs and the red lights go off in his/her judgement through the scenarios. You think to yourself, “Uh oh.” You observe him/her during the final exercise and you’ve decided he/she isn’t cut for the job.

Now comes the question. Do you give them the certificate of completion and cut them loose in the industry? Do you give them their money back and a certificate of attendance? That’s the question here. I don’t think that just because someone attends is an automatic sign off on them and cut them loose to the industry with my name attached to it. It’s one thing for a person that did well in the course and has hiccups in the industry versus someone you know didn’t cut the mustard and you set them loose. I know there are no guarantees with anyone but there has to be some responsibility placed on the trainers too.

Here’s the reality. If he/she gets in a civil suit, their training will be put on trial too. It’s called the deep pockets of vicarious liability.

I feel the same with weapons training. If you go through a week of training and running through the course. When it’s test time, it’s time to pass or fail. If you’re on the street and launch a round you can’t call it back. Knowingly giving a certificate of completion just because someone paid attended and your course and failed is negligent.

We all need to take responsibility for what we put on the street.

2 comments

  1. ZW

    Excellent comments, Eric.

    There should definitely be a notable distinction between “Attendance” and “Satisfactory Completion”…

    As we all know, way too many EP “Diploma Mills” are cranking out Certified Clowns…

    1. Eric Konohia

      The other problem is that when a specialist successfully completes a course he/she doesn’t write the proper wording on their bios to get credit for the course when a company owner like me reads them.

Leave a Reply to Eric Konohia Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *