Davey Tree Flipbooks

4 THE DAVEY BULLETIN | January/February 2021 ASK THE CEO ASK THE CEO: Q. HOW IS EMPLOYEE TRAINING ADAPTING TO TODAY'S ENVIRONMENT? First, the Institute formalized a pre-requisite course for D.I.T.S. called "D.I.T.S. Technical Essentials." In the future this will be offered as an online curriculum, but to honor the D.I.T.S. tradition, R.J. Laverne, Ph.D., Davey's manager of education and training, will provide a personalized online program for approximately 20 students in February. Additionally, this winter, employees companywide have access to elements of the "Winter Season of Education and Training." The program will offer a mix of "daily doses," virtual presentations in a short and easily accessible format, combined with weekly highlights of courses available on the Davey LMS. Those two components will be supplemented by in-person training sessions conducted by the Institute's technical advisors on a regional basis, and in compliance with all applicable COVID-19 protocol and guidelines. The result will be an à la carte menu of training opportunities that provide a little something for everyone, spanning from mid-January through early March. Plant Health Care. Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Preparatory curriculum for the International Society of Arboriculture certification exam. An LMS navigation course. These are just some of the examples of modules that will be available for employees to access. Our goal is to meet our employees where they are and provide flexible learning opportunities to a broad range of people, some of whom may learn in different ways. Rachel Foot, Ph. D., manager of online A. Davey employees are learners. Throughout our history we have prided ourselves on a commitment to education and training – dating back to 1909 and the founding of our flagship training program, the Davey Institute of Tree Sciences (D.I.T.S.). For many decades we relied on face-to-face experiences as our primary form of training. Within the past 10 years Davey added a learning management system (LMS) to electronically provide access to educational content for employees in all locations. Restrictions set forth as a result of COVID-19 provided the company with an opportunity to accelerate our distance learning opportunities for our employees on a scale never done before. By the fall of 2020, it was apparent D.I.T.S. could not be held in the usual format with dozens of employees gathered in Kent for a month of intensive learning. So, we challenged the Davey Institute with this question: "What can we do instead?" Our education and training team responded in true Davey fashion. content, joined Davey Fall 2019 to spearhead our online education efforts. She and Laverne are leading the Win- ter Season of Education and Training program. The Institute has rolled out detailed information on how to access the daily doses via the DaveyConnect app, through companywide emails and on the LMS home page, where a menu of available and highlighted courses is updated regularly. If you have questions you may send them to Education@davey.com. As D.I.T.S. did for our organization for over a century, we are confident this year's roll out of the Winter Season of Education and Training will help our employees emerge in the growing season even better prepared to serve their clients' and communities' needs, while simultaneously helping chart a course for the future of education and training at Davey. Pat Covey Davey Chairman, President and CEO Look for this logo on the LMS to find Winter Season of Education and Training content.

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