Working for Water
Contractor Training Manual
About the WfW Contractor Training Course
Welcome to the WfW Contractor Training Course. We hope that you will find the course useful and that you will benefit from the ideas and suggestions in it. We wrote this course to help standardise the training that Working for Water (WfW) contractors receive across the country.
What does the course consist of?
There are three components that make up this course:
· This WfW Contractor Training Manual is the guide trainers will use to prepare and train each session.
· The WfW Contractor’s Manual is given to contractors after they are selected. They use this Manual during the training course and they also keep it with them to refer to when they are in the field. The file format makes it easy for contractors to add or up-date information. The index at the back of the file helps contractors to find the information they need.
· The WfW Video on clearing methods and the WfW Induction Training Video are an integral part of the WfW Contractor Training Course and all trainers must have copies of these videos to deliver the training. The WfW Contractor Training Manual indicates when you need to show the videos.
What is included in the WfW Contractor Training Manual?
This Manual has three sections:
Section 1 – An introduction to the techniques and methods that trainers should use when delivering this course.
Section 2 – Outlines for each training day.
Section 3 – A set of the handouts that need to be photocopied for participants.
Scope of the course
Contractors can only work for Working for Water for a maximum of 24 months within a five-year cycle. This is because Working for Water is a Special Public Works Programme, which aims to give many people in different communities a chance to be employed and to receive training. So, during the 24-month period, contractors are part of a broad development programme to gain both generic and specialised skills and knowledge.
Side box
Generic: The general, non-specific information that all contractors need to know. It is the common, basic information.
This WfW Contractor Training Course covers the generic training that contractors receive during their 24-month development programme. They receive other specialised training that is not covered by this course. For example: Herbicide, First Aid and Health and Safety courses.
The generic contractor training is delivered in three phases as shown on the table below:
WfW Contractor Training / When the training is delivered to contractors / Sections of the WfW Contractor’s Manual / Number of training daysPhase 1 / Before they begin the first contract / Section 1–4 (Unit 1 – 12) / 10
Phase 2 / During the first 4 contracts / Section 5
(Unit 13 - 16) / 3
Phase 3 / In the second year of working / Section 6
(Unit 17 – 19) / 2
Contractors receive practical training in the field to complement this training course. After Phase 1, contractors have structured field visits with a Project Manager and/or experienced contractors. After Phase 2, they receive a practical course that includes site visits and self-evaluation. In addition, all contractors receive ongoing mentoring and support from their Project Manager. The WfW Contractor Training Course provides an overview and does not include details on the specialised or practical training that contractors receive. Trainers should get more information on this from the Working for Water office in their region.
A suggested daily programme
The WfW Contractor Training Course consists of 15 days of training, with each training day being at least 6 hours long. We suggest that you follow this daily programme:
First session / 2 hours
TEA / 15 minutes
Second session / 2 hours
LUNCH / 1 hour
Third session / 2 hours
TEA / 15 min
TOTAL HOURS / 7 ½ hours
Your training day could be scheduled to run from 8h30 to 16h00 or alternatively, from 9h00 to 16h30. If you need extra time, you could negotiate with participants to start earlier, take a shorter lunch break or work longer in the afternoon. Remember that transport will need to be arranged to fit in with the revised programme.
The training is not simply about giving participants new information. It also includes an education, training and development process specifically designed for participants to develop the skills they need. The training takes the following principles of adult learning into account.
How adults learn best
· Adults learn best when they feel that they need to learn. In other words, they are motivated by some need – to understand their job, to do their job safely or to earn money.
· Adults learn best when they are actively involved in their own learning – when they are sharing their knowledge, skills and experiences; and when they feel confident.
· Adults learn best when they start with what they know, with what is familiar to them. The trainer can then guide them to gain new skills and knowledge.
· Adults learn best when their learning is interactive and collaborative. We encourage participants to work with others to discuss problems, negotiate solutions and share information.
· People never stop learning. Learning is an on-going process. The fruit of real learning is when participants apply and transfer their knowledge and skills outside the training room, to their daily lives and to work.
How to train diverse groups
The Working for Water teams are often made up of a diverse group of people. These diverse team members must work together as a team to get the contract done efficiently and safely. This WfW Contractor Training Course is a good opportunity for contractors to get to know each other and possibly form support networks for each other after the course. Your role is to facilitate the process of building a strong group spirit. Here are some guidelines on how to do this:
· Remain constantly aware of the group dynamics and be prepared to deal with issues of prejudice openly as they arise. This may be in terms of gender, race, age, culture or education levels.
· We have tried to move away from stereotyped roles in the training material and this may spark off some discussion and debate. For example, we often use examples of women using machinery. Be prepared to challenge participants who react negatively to this, or better still, try to get other participants to challenge them.
· In this course, participants often need to work in pairs or small groups. Make sure that these pairs and groups do not stay the same for long. Change the participants around often so that everyone has a chance to get to know each other and so that you prevent the formation of cliques.
· This course is not a competition. Make sure that the different participants and groups do not try to compete with one another in any way. This will only lead to some participants feeling insecure and inadequate.
· It is very likely that some participants in your group did not have access to enough, good quality education when they were children. Participants may also have forgotten some of their previous knowledge and skills. Ensure that participants who struggle to read, write or do basic arithmetic do not feel that they are unable to participate fully. See the section below on the literacy levels of participants for ideas of how to deal with this.
· Ideally the training should be conducted in the language/s that participants speak and can understand best. However, this is not always possible. You should allow participants to speak in a language they are most comfortable with and ask others to help translate if necessary. Provide enough time to make sure that all participants understand all new concepts clearly.
The principles related to teaching adults and working with diverse groups, are found in both what you train and also in how you train. In other words, they are part and parcel of the content you train and the process and techniques you use.
Side box 1:
What = the content
Side box 2:
How – the process and techniques
Some techniques to use
Ice-breakers
It is very important to develop trust amongst the group when you start. As a trainer, you also need an opportunity to learn everyone’s names. Here are some ideas of ice-breakers that can be used at the beginning of each phase of the course or even at the beginning of each day.
§ Send half of the group out of the room. The others all put one personal item on a table in the middle of the room. (For example, a watch, cellphone, jersey, etc.) The others come back in and each one picks up an item. They must then mingle and find out to whom the object belongs. They should introduce themselves to each person they meet before they ask if the item belongs to them. At the end, each person should report who the item belongs to and give it back to the owner.
§ Everyone makes a sign with their name and one of their positive characteristics. They hang this around their necks with a piece of wool. They then go around to the group and introduce themselves to each other.
§ Give each participant the name of a popular song on a piece of paper. Choose songs that you think that the participants will all know and have a positive message – like ‘I believe I can fly’. Everyone then goes around the room humming the song and trying to find others with the same song that they have. Once the groups get together they can sing their song (and this will also help any stragglers to find their groups more easily).
§ Cut out a set of pictures from an old magazine or newspaper. Cut each picture in half and put the halves into a hat. Have only enough pieces for the number of participants in your group. The participants then need to draw out a picture and then mingle to find the person who has the other half of their picture. They should introduce themselves to each other while they are hunting for their partner.
§ Throw a ball from person to person. You must say the other person’s name before throwing the ball to them to catch. This is a good activity for Day 2 when everyone needs to be reminded of each other’s names.
Energisers
Some of the content in the WfW Contractor’s Manual is very difficult and during the training day it is a good idea to have a few energisers to give participants a break and enough energy to carry on with the work.
Some ideas of energisers are:
§ The whole group stands up and does a little Latin dance writing the words Working for Water in the air with their arms and then later ‘write’ the words with their hips. (This is for more outgoing groups.
§ Participants stand in a circle and everyone claps and stamps their feet. Then everyone stretches and turns to the left and massages the shoulders of the person in front of them. They then turn around and massage the shoulders of the person behind them.
§ Participants just close their eyes for one minute. This is good after a particularly difficult section.
§ Everyone has a chair except the trainer who starts off the game. The trainer says: The sun shines on everyone… wearing glasses. All the participants who are wearing glasses need to get up and find a chair. The trainer quickly finds him/herself a chair and the person left without a chair carries on the game and says: the sun shines on … and gives any ending (examples can be: anyone born on an even day; anyone who has children; anyone who was born in Mpumalanga; etc.). The game continues until you think that the group has relaxed enough to carry on working.
§ Say that you have invented a new language and that in this language you count like this:
San buk sun = 1
Dolong buk sun = 2
Tata buk sun = 5
Every time you say tata buk sun everyone must clap five times. When you say san buk sun they must clap once, etc. This game gets everyone to concentrate on something completely different and can cause a lot of laughs. In mixed language groups, participants can then do this using their own languages. They can also vary the activities and get participants to stand, sit, etc.
Organising participants
There are different ways to organise activities in the training room – participants can work alone, as a whole group, in pairs, and in small groups. We have suggested how to organise activities in this Manual.
Using group work
Dividing the larger group into smaller groups of between 4 to 6 participants is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to promote interaction. In the smaller group, participants learn to work together as a team. They listen to other participants’ ideas and discover new information. The group helps participants consolidate what they know, what they think and what they can do.
Dividing into groups
You will see that we use a lot of group work in this course. Always make sure that you have groups that work together well. Here are some techniques to use to divide participants into groups:
§ If you want four groups, then participants number themselves around the room from 1 – 4 until everyone has a number – 1, 2, 3 or 4. Then all the 4s go into one group, all the 3s go into one group, etc. If you want three groups, then participants should number themselves 1 – 3, etc.
§ Give everyone a number and then ask all the even numbers to go into one group and all the odd numbers to form another group.