Dear PaddyB,

I'm curious about the rules in Australia compared to those in the USA. Is there a web site where one can view the rules you reference? I understand the Australian rules are much more voluminous (a lot more pages), but I have no take on their effectiveness or validity.

Your question raises just this point, or I do NOT think you would be asking the question. I personally tend to question training regulations that typically are written and advanced by people who are either politically motivated to some other purpose, and/or have NO evidence that the training rules will actually work effectively in the field. Since such rules are mandates and you must comply, it is up to you to find ways that are compliance-acceptable to the regulators while also finding ways to deliver effective training i.e. training that transfers to the workplace.

I believe achieving compliance AND transfer to the job often requires a systematic approach that 1) has NO self-cancelling principles, 2) is elegant in that all the elements of the system "fit" with each other, and 3) can be improved as objective evidence, over time, demonstrates a need to change some aspect of the system. Government training regulations typically do NOT meet this "systematic standard" of effectiveness no matter where the rules were made.

For information that might inform your effectivness, you can get free and useful information at the "yet-to-be-launched" web site: www dot LIFTOR dot com.

Best wishes,