Is online safety training as good as classroom training?

An
interview with eSafetyFirst Canada CEO

During the past year, plenty of safety training centres were either closed or had their activity
constrained by COVID regulations. In these dubious times, online safety training was on the
ascension and many companies sought alternative solutions in online safety programs. 

The question remains: Are these programs just as good as the instructor-led programs? In today’s
article, we are discussing this topic with Andrei Rebegila, the CEO of eSafetyFirst Canada, one
of the leading platforms in online safety training in Canada.

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself and what is this eSafetyFirst platform that you have
developed?

A: I would relish commencing by thanking you for having this interview here, with us. I am not a
public person so I am honoured to be published by TheSafetyMag as I often sit behind the
computer and read news related to the OHS industry, from your website. Now a bit about
myself… I’ve been in the safety training industry for roughly 7 years, so not that much compared
to other professionals out there, but where I lacked the skills, I ascertained to employ them with
the purpose to offer the best possible service on the market through a user-friendly interface.
With eSafetyFirst, for me, the focus has always been to heedfully perceive all our customer’s
feedback and adapt our product based on our customer’s needs, and that is why one of my daily
tasks is to answer our support line personally as I am dedicated to assisting all of our customers. 
We have proudly reached the number of 36 courses, all created in accordance with OHS
(Occupational Health and Safety) Act & Regulations and fully compliant with the Safety
Standards in Canada. We are currently developing two incipient courses but considering we also
want to combine two training programs into one course, we will probably be sitting at 36 courses
for this year.

Q: As a business owner, how did this pandemic impact your business?

A1: On one side, many employers and private individuals applying for a job were looking more
into online training solutions during these times, in comparison to a classroom option but on the
other side many people lost their job or there simply weren’t that many job opportunities so in
return a large portion of the market was lackadaisical towards renewing their safety training
program. I would say that the numbers were evened out so overall I would say that auspiciously,
this market has not been impacted negatively by the pandemic. 
A2: While it is true that during those uncertain times the market was lackadaisical towards
renewing their safety training program (as workplace opportunities decreased drastically) many
employers and private individuals sought out alternative solutions in online training programs,
thus minimizing the negative impact the pandemic had on our business. 
 Q: What are the main benefits of an online training program over a classroom training
program?

 A: Generally speaking, most benefits derive from accessibility. With our online training
platform, within 5 minutes from visiting the website, you can have your account set up and have
the option to commence the course right away. There is no need to schedule appointments,
commute to a certain place or chase instructors for certificates. Furthermore, the testing results
are provided right away and the users are learning at their own pace. They can pause, resume, go
back to certain parts of the content at any hour of the day, and so they are not circumscribed to
complete the training in one go or at a certain hour where they might simply not be available.
What's more, our platform allows the users to retain access to the course even after finishing it,
so you can always go back to the course in case there are certain doubts. I believe this is very
consequential because, frankly, nobody is going to accumulate so much information within just a
few hours of training and being able to go back and check the course at any time is essential. 
On top of that, since online platforms have the option to automate so many components of their
services, there aren’t that many human resources involved, thus reducing the cost for customers
(in some cases even 10 times more frugal).

Q: Who should use an online training platform and who shouldn’t?

This question tackles a very important subject. If you look into today’s job listing market, over
70% of job postings require a certain safety training certificate. There are multiple problems with
this aspect. First of all, the employer is the one that is responsible for the employee’s safety
training, meaning he should be the one that selects the appropriate level of training based on the
job obligations. Secondly, the employees are not necessarily apprised with the OHS Act and
Regulations, as this is not a component of their vocation or their job obligations so in many
cases, they are not aware of the hazards that are specific to the job they are applying for or what
their safety training should involve. Last, but not least, many of these programs involve a certain
amount of workplace hands-on practical and evaluation components which should be completed
inside the workplace. Even if certain types of equipment share the same standard, in most cases,
two workplaces will not be using the same type of equipment, nor have the same hazards. Let’s
take an electric rider truck for example vs an Internal combustion engine hoist trucks... they are
both compliant with the Forklift Safety Training B335-15 (R2020) Standard, but the hazards and
the templates for pre-operation inspection or operator evaluation are not going to be identical; so
even if you complete a classroom training program, your level of safety training is not going to
be according to the standard because you utilize a piece of equipment that is not the same as the
one in your workplace. While on one side I understand that for some smaller companies it can be
financially arduous to follow the standards, select and pay for the appropriate level of training for
every employee, if you wish to have a growing company that thrives, I believe it is paramount to
invest into your employees and sustain a safe workplace environment.

Q: What has eSafetyFirst done to mitigate such problems?

A: There are a few things we’ve done. Most importantly, information and education. Most of our
courses have a resources section that points to recognized Canadian information sources. For
example, for those courses that require a specific workplace hands-on practical part, we’ve
provided templates and concrete plans as to what has to be followed in terms of evaluation or
pre-operation inspection, directly from safety standards that are recognized in Canada. Compared
to other online safety training companies out there that have developed programs from multiple
sources, most of them from US standards or even other countries, we appraise the customer's
sources that are in accordance with the Canadian standards and regulations only. 
Furthermore, we are the only online training company that offers group training solutions. The
employers can utilize our system to create a group of minimum 6 individuals where they can all
take the training at the same time and have an instant result after completing the testing section.
More importantly, with our group training option, the employer/supervisor can check what
questions were problematic for the trainees and get redirected to the part in the course where they
can find the answer to those specific questions. Additionally, they can utilize this system to
combine it with workplace-specific tasks so they can complete everything from inside the
company. While the group training has been a profoundly colossal investment for us, which has
not paid off yet, as with COVID and everything going on, companies are not probing for such
solutions, but we believe it will be very useful once this pandemic will come to an end.

 Q: We are reaching the end of our interview. In conclusion, from your experience in the
industry, would you recommend online safety training over the classroom?
 
 A: Considering I own an online safety training company, my answer might seem scarcely
counterintuitive, however I strongly believe the answer is somewhere in the middle. As we have
previously discussed, I believe every employer should answer this question for themselves, and
not expect candidates to complete certain programs which migh end up not being proper. On top
of that, not all online training companies are self-regulating or investing as much into their
systems as we are, so there are plenty of them out there that I would not recommend. While it is
true that there is always room for improvement, I am very confident that we are the best
available solution on the market right now, so to sum it up, I would highly recommend our
services. 😊