The 7 MUST ASK questions to
decide if an emergency
response/safety training provider
is the right fit for your business
“ to forever change safety in
the world...one experience at
a time
”
FIRE & SAFETY AUSTRALIA
1300 88 55 30 • www.fsaus.com.au
The 7 MUST ASK questions to decide if an emergency
response/safety training provider is the right fit for
your business
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
How many learners did you train in the last 12 months?
Are you a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and describe your Quality Management system to us?
How do you ensure that the training is relevant to our workplace and our industry?
What training options do you offer to be flexible to our requirements?
Please provide a background and CV for each of your safety trainers/assessors who may come to our workplace?
What fees do you charge (course fees, travel fees, certificate fees and/or any other applicable fees?)...are there
hidden fees?
The single most important question of all…..
DO YOU BACKUP ALL OF YOUR TRAINING COURSES WITH A NO QUESTIONS ASKED 100% MONEY BACK
GUARANTEE?
How many learners did you train in the last 12 months?
In our experience we have found that very small RTO’s with 1-4 people often don’t have the capability or flexibility of the larger
RTO’s and can rely very heavily on 1 person to deliver all training which can have challenges around availability. A training
organisation that trains 5000+ learners per year should have a minimum of 2-3 full-time trainers (5+ full-time employees) and
have a reasonable quality system and the infrastructure required to meet your demands.
Are you a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and describe your Quality Management system to us?
Not all RTO’s are created equal….some have full-time Quality Assurance and Compliance personnel with a systematic
approach to Quality Management…whereas some organisations have little in the way of quality management systems and
purchase a quality manual and training materials off the internet!
Questions to ask a potential training provider to determine if they ‘fit’:
*Is the company you are talking to actually an RTO?
*Is the training nationally recognised? Or is it just informal training (and if so, does it adhere to the same quality systems as
accredited training?
*Do you have a dedicated full-time Quality Assurance Manager?
*Do you hold external accreditation for your Quality System such as ISO9001-2008?
These questions can help you determine if your RTO’s idea of quality are conducting learner evaluations or if they have an
independently audited and certified ISO9001-2008 quality management system and a dedicated full-time Quality manager.
How do you ensure that the training is relevant to our workplace and our industry?
Your training provider should tailor the course content directly to your company procedures and policies and not run generic
training courses. Your training provider should get to know your permits, policies, procedures, equipment and culture and
include this in your training program to ensure learner acceptance and knowledge retention. Your training provider should do
their best to ensure consistency of attending trainers to ensure that they get to know your site procedures and the methods
of work.
What training options do you offer to be flexible to our requirements?
A great training provider should work with YOU and PARTNER with you to identify cost saving measures to ensure that you
get the best bang for your buck with every training dollar. Look for a training provider that has a history (and client referees
to back it up) of partnering with clients to save them money.
Does your training provider offer you alternative methods of training with the aim of saving you training dollars, like:
*The provision of a full-time ‘outsourced’ trainer/assessor to your organisation. If your organisation is completing in excess of
www.fsaus.com.au
FIRE & SAFETY AUSTRALIA
1300 88 55 30 • www.fsaus.com.au
7 days of safety/emergency response training per month and particularly if you are in a remote environment, an outsourced
trainer/assessor option may save you $50,000 -$100,000 per annum!
• The provision of a partnership/auspice/co-provider agreement, whereby your company partners with an RTO so that
your employees can deliver nationally recognised training through your partner RTO on-site with your own trainer/assessor
personnel at your own pace giving you with enormous flexibility.
• Conducting training course out of normal daytime hours for your shift working personnel.
• Bringing equipment on-site (such as a confined space simulator and safety/rescue equipment) to conduct training on-site
and to reduce the need for your personnel to leave site and go to a training providers facility.
Please provide a background and CV for each of your safety trainers/assessors who may come to our workplace?
After hundreds of interviews with organisations across all industries within Australia, we have found that the SINGLE LARGEST
AREA OF NEGATIVE FEEDBACK ABOUT SAFETY/EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAINING IS THE KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE AND
LEARNER INTERACTION SKILLS OF THE TRAINER.
We believe that trainers should have an absolute minimum of 3 years (ideally 5+ years) of related industry experience in the
area of which they are teaching. For example, 3 years of participation in mines rescue/military service within emergency
response or emergency response services (such as a firefighter or paramedic) is a good base level of experience for your
trainers to have. A standard of 3+ years means that these personnel haven’t just ‘attended one emergency’ but rather they
have a strong background and have responded to dozens of emergencies.
What fees do you charge (course fees, travel fees, certificate fees and/or any other applicable fees?)...are there hidden fees?
We all hate hidden costs such as credit card surcharges, airline excess baggage and other extra fees. These fees frustrate us,
yet often we pay these fees to many training companies because they force us to!
Does your training provider have an easy to understand bill where you have all of the information laid out in an easy to
understand manner for you to read and budget for? Or does the invoice include other additional fees such as certificate
printing fees, learner manual printing fees, administration fees, contract fees etc.
Ask your training provider for the EXACT TOTAL PRICE for the training to be conducted and then refuse to pay anything more.
You should be able to have an exact price based on the number of participants and the location and the duration of the
training course. There are some unscrupulous providers who have a very low daily training rate…but BE CAREFUL as by the
time they charge you additional fees…they can cost you 100% more!
The single most important question of all…..
DO YOU BACKUP ALL OF YOUR TRAINING COURSES WITH A NO QUESTIONS ASKED 100% MONEY BACK GUARANTEE?
Ask your potential training supplier ‘Do you have an unconditional 100% money back guarantee?’ and ‘Will you refund our
money in full if we are not completely satisfied with the contents of the training course?’
If your training provider has an UNCONDITIONAL NO QUESTIONS ASKED 100% MONEY BACK GUARANTEE they are putting
their business and their reputation on the line to ensure that the training is of a high quality and meets your specific needs. If
your provider has a money back guarantee then you TRULY have nothing to lose by giving them an opportunity…the risk sits
with them and not you. Does your training provider offer a full and unconditional money back guarantee with no questions
asked? If not…do they really standby their training?
Summary:
This paper is an educational tool to give you the knowledge and skills to make an effective decision on what training provider
best fits your needs. I hope you read this document and this helps you in making an informed decision. I wish you the very
best with your safety and emergency response training and hope that this tool helps you avoid mistakes and obtain great
training outcomes for your team!
www.fsaus.com.au
“to forever change safety in the world...
one experience at a time ”
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'
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