BUTUAN CITY – “I realized that fund utilization does not measure the accomplishment in conducting a training, but the relevance and quality of the training itself,” says Engr. Zairha Pude, Agricultural Extension Worker (AEW) from Carmen, Surigao del Sur.

Pude is among the 19 newly-hired AEWs from various Local Government Units (LGUs) in Surigao del Sur who successfully completed the first batch of the Training of Trainers (TOT) on Training Management last April 20-22, 2022.

As a ladderized training program, said TOT is part of ATI’s commitment to providing capacity enhancement for the LGU counterparts to fully the devolved functions, particularly the provision of farmer-level training in their respective areas of coverage.

As front liners in the delivery of extension services, the trainees were introduced to the world of training, covering the whole phases of training management on the pre, during, and post-training tasks through lecture and discussion, group dynamics, exercises, and other activities to intensify the learning process. They also learned about the nature and characteristics of adults as learners as well as the qualities of an effective trainer.

One of the highlights of TOT was the practical exercises on the training needs survey and the formulation of Training Design. Communication, facilitation, and presentation skills were also imparted to the trainees. Prior to this, the participants were enrolled in the e-learning on Training Management.

The Resource Persons were composed of Mr. Heracleo A. Paler, Mary Grace B. Salve, Engr. Matt Andrew G. Baquiano, Jason Paul Dadz E. Jampac, and Ginalyn V. Arbutante.
The trainees will then advance to the 2nd level of the program which is focused on the Extension Delivery System in May 2022.

All in all, the ATI will be conducting five batches of TOT on Training Management and five batches of the TOT on Extension Delivery System intended for AEWs in the region.