Comprising members from Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria and Lebanon, the ProFuturo trainers’ hub was established over a year ago as an initiative to share best practices among operations and social organisations during the implementation of the ProFuturo programme, to strengthen face-to-face training in Africa and Asia, and to harness and develop the regional talent of people who were already part of the programme and who understand its day-to-day operations, as well as to improve the contextualisation and local adaptation of the tools and resources provided by ProFuturo.
The major milestone of last year was the face-to-face training of trainers in Madrid in July. From then on, work began with all its members to foster a sense of pride and belonging to an exceptional team of trainers, with extensive knowledge of the implementation of ProFuturo in operations across Africa and Asia. Furthermore, that same year the trainers led face-to-face training sessions in Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. This fostered interpersonal understanding, mutual learning and the development of skills related to their new role as trainers. In addition, from September onwards, a virtual community was launched via WhatsApp, with the aim of supporting them and providing a space for exchange and learning.
This week, several members of the hub met in Madrid for a series of sessions designed to continue their training programme, create opportunities to share with the global team and help strengthen their bonds as the core group of the coaching community. Furthermore, meeting in person has enabled them to share best practices across operations, with a particular focus on strategic issues, such as the roll-out of the new ProFuturo Offline Platform, ProFuturo Maths or the Teacher Self-Assessment Tool.
The main advantage of having hub members train the programme’s future coaches is that they have first-hand knowledge of the challenges faced by teams on the ground, which fosters greater rapport and empathy when delivering face-to-face training. Furthermore, in cases where hub members train teams from the same country, their deep understanding of the local context allows for better adaptation of the training. Consequently, this initiative ensures higher quality and traceability in training experiences. On the one hand, hub members possess the ideal profile to train their peers and share experiences; on the other, they provide a direct channel for the global team when evaluating resources, proposals and training plans, thereby facilitating the cycle of continuous improvement.
Content and dynamics are established for each training session, but challenges may arise during delivery, and trainers must have resources to mitigate the associated risks. All of this requires adaptability and problem-solving skills. Furthermore, preparing these training sessions runs alongside their other responsibilities as coaches or project managers for the programme.
This new week of training in Madrid aims, on the one hand, to address ProFuturo’s strategic needs, and on the other, to address the needs raised by the trainers prior to their arrival in the capital.
Through the various training modules, the trainers’ questions and concerns have been addressed, enhancing their skills and competencies as conveyors of knowledge to the teams on the ground. It has also been observed how the trainers have grown into their new role; their reflections are more profound and their leadership is abundantly clear, thereby helping to strengthen their understanding of ProFuturo and their role as leaders of change.
