Feedback From Gwynedd Councillors On Training.
There has been a recent Report released entitled Learning and Development Provision for Members. It lists two successes - • "I benefited from the Effective Presentation training. I have learned how to structure a presentation professionally, something that can become very useful when you have to present in a Committee eg Planning Committee. This training can be very useful for all Members. It was brilliant" • "The Dealing with the Press was very valuable. No-one knows what issues can arise within their ward, and so the experience I've had on this course are great. Very challenging training, and gained valuable skills. " It also lists challenges - Attendance Numbers of Members attending are inconsistent e.g. "Unconscious Bias" training was organized at the request of a Member, but only 2 Members attended the whole session. However, the response to some titles has been disappointing e.g. when a Corporate Parenting session was arranged for an evening in January (following a specific request from Members), the session had to be cancelled as only 5 registered to attend. Comments that were received from the councillors included - • "I only attend titles that are of interest to me" • "Too much training" • "Of course I go to the Planning training because those are compulsory and I am interested in the subject as I am a Member of the Committee" • "I think others are important, Childcare / Care of the Elderly etc, however, I have contacts that specialise in many areas - and I get any information that I need through those sources" • "Between day to day work and all Committees, I have to prioritise matters" • "It is sometimes better to have some Members who specialise in some areas, instead of Members trying to get information about everything" • "The titles you offer are all that we need as Members and I can only praise that" • "A great obstacle is that I have to take 'unpaid holidays' for the Committees and training that coincide with my working time, so attending events can be costly for me. In addition, it is very difficult to get time off. Events later in the afternoons would work well for me). " • "If Members can not attend events, that they receive a copy of the materials by e-mail after the event, so that they can see the presentation." • "Any area I need help with, I can get the information over the phone / email / internet and I do not feel that Managers / officers need to give me information." • "At my age, I’m not sure how much more 'development' I need to do - so I do not think it's important for me by now." The full Report can be found here - https://democracy.cyngor.gwynedd.gov.uk/documents/g2595/Public%20reports%20pack%2012th-Feb-2019%2010.30%20Democratic%20Services%20Committee.pdf?T=10
