“I have knowledge and operational experience. I want to learn how to share that knowledge with colleagues, support them in their work and develop my presentation skills.”
“I want to benefit from sharing knowledge, practice and practical experiences with colleagues from across Europe. I believe that contact with other colleagues enhances understanding.”
“I am already asked to train colleagues. I want to improve my training methods and knowledge of Schengen matters.”
These were typical statements of expectation from the 26 course participants, from 18 Member States. These participants will now form the next tranche of trainers to support:
- new operational end-users of the Schengen Information System (SIS)
- colleagues within the national SIRENE Bureaux and Single Points Of Contact (SPOC) for cross-border cooperation
Ultimately, they will also become members of the teams delivering the CEPOL SIRENE basic and advanced seminars at the European level.
Ireland is the latest Member State preparing to join the Schengen Information System (SIS). It was great to see two members of Ireland’s project team from the national police service (An Garda Síochána) who will be responsible for developing and delivering the training packages for all operational and specialist SIS end-users.
The Course Programme was based in the context of the issues faced by SIS end-users and the staff of the SIRENE Bureaux. Participants studied the impact on training of differences in national technical implementation of SIS, variations in procedures and learning environments. Sessions involved short introductions followed by break-out sessions on case studies, training methodologies, writing objectives and evaluation.
The course culminated in small group work to develop five presentations for a live webinar, working with the CEPOL webinar team, where course participants delivered an on-line training session to their colleagues, sitting in an auditorium in another part of the building.
When asked to express satisfaction with the course as a whole (content, trainers, networking, learning environment) the overall rating of the course was 84% very satisfied and 16% satisfied, with the most frequent comment made being that participants wanted the course to be longer to provide more opportunities to develop knowledge and skills in practical settings. Encouraging feedback indeed!
