Blended learning, this concept within the close protection industry is new and slowly growing traction as we face new challenges in a pandemic world. However, we (we meaning myself and our associates within the training sphere) have been discussing and developing a blended learning experience for students years before the COVID-19 Crisis as we have identified benefits from such a training delivery method.
Now, you may ask yourself, why do we need blended learning, aside from distancing requirements created by a virus? Have you ever attended a school and found that the attending students are at varying plateaus in their abilities and knowledge? We once simplified this notion by calling it “your time and grade.” Today, we find that the world moves at the speed of light, and the expectations of people entering the field of protection from the training stage, in reality, are people not ready for real-world operations.
In the executive protection course I have created, there are two proving grounds: your knowledge and your abilities. I have developed a base standard of education that you must meet through testing before considering our practical training course. We cover all the critical topics of protecting through a modular learning method. A sample of topics covered includes communication, advances, and risk assessments to communication, etiquette, and business acumen. Our knowledge training goal is to develop a well-rounded candidate who is ready to team with others entering our practical abilities training – in other words, “people who speak and understand the sam
e language.”
Once you enter our practical training, you will discover the same modular method of presenting our instruction that allows our functional training to be scalable once you have met the actual baseline requirements. Students may experience what is necessary for only their career path or experience everything we offer. A student may complete the modules provided in one visit or return for additional visits for added modules of learning.
Overall scalability of our training affords proprietary (internal) EP, teams to train within areas that matter to their specific mission. The delivery method allows for a reduction in costs, the impact on budgets, and less time away from operational responsibilities.
Studying what works and what has not worked is essential to improving our individual and team capabilities. As a training provider, we dissect historical incidents to identify and understand the vulnerabilities and threats so we may understand why the attacker was successful in the assault of the protectee. From these case studies, students learn to understand why we conduct activities in a particular fashion vs. going through the motions alone. When confidentiality allows, we will review actual detail incidents experienced by our students – where the student actively participates in the learning experience.
I am looking forward to the full unveiling of our training programs and working with our Synergistic Partners and the additional value they will bring to learning in the Protection Industry.
For more information regarding what we are doing, please visit www.synergisticprotectiontraining.com – oh, by the way, we are not only looking for students, but we are also looking for instructors to join our cadre of like-minded people looking for solutions to improve the protection industry.
Bill Peeler
