According to international standards, the initial and on-going training pro­grammes for the personnel involved in the operation of the nuclear facility must be designed and implemented following a Systematic Approach to Training (SAT) methodology. Establishing SAT at an early stage in the project will help to ensure that an effective training system is set up within the project and that those areas where training services and support can be appropriately outsourced to vendors and/or national education and training organizations are correctly specified.

A training programme must have been developed according to the fol­lowing phases, if it is to fit within the SAT concept:

• Analysis

• Design

• Development

• Implementation

• Evaluation.

For all jobs that have a potential impact on the safe and reliable operation of nuclear facilities, the training needs associated with both technical com­petence and soft skills should be considered and analysed as part of the SAT process.

An important activity of the SAT analysis phase is job analysis. Job analy­sis is a method used to obtain a detailed listing of the duties and tasks of a specific job. The results of job analysis are an important input to the SAT design phase. Job analysis results are also important for other HR-related purposes, such as recruitment and selection, HR planning, training, qualifi­cation and authorization, employee development, succession planning and career development.

Once a training programme is running, new information or events can trigger training needs analysis, for example changes in regulatory require­ments, plant modifications, new procedures, feedback from job incumbents, supervisors, trainees or instructors, operating experience, and weaknesses in training processes or performance deficiencies, amongst others.

The most important outcome of the design phase is the training objec­tives. Clear training objectives which are measurable and based on job requirements constitute the basis for designing training programmes, devel­oping training materials and performing post-training assessments of competencies.

During this phase the different training settings (classroom, simulator, workshop, laboratory, plant for on-the-job training) and training tools, suit­able for achieving the training objectives, should be identified. Training tools that are particularly important in the nuclear industry include simula­tors, equipment for workshops and laboratories, mock-ups, computer-based and web-based training systems, e-learning platforms, and video and audio training aids.

Finally, the standards and associated assessment methods are determined during the design phase.

The outcomes from the development phase are the suitable training materials which support the training tools, such as lesson plans, student handouts, simulator scenarios, workshop and laboratory practices and on-the-job training guides. Particularly important activities within the development phase are the training of instructors and validating training materials during a pilot course to ensure the required quality of training delivery.

It is during the implementation phase when training is conducted in the different training settings. If the analysis phase has been well done, only relevant training will be delivered. The implementation phase also includes an assessment of whether students have achieved the standards identified in the training objectives. The assessment of competencies should lead to a formal process of qualification and authorization of personnel to work in an efficient and safe manner without direct supervision.

Training evaluation is one of the most important phases to guarantee the effectiveness of training programmes and improve performance. According to Kirkpatrick (2011) four levels of evaluation can be used to determine the impact of training:

• Level 1: Participants’ reactions to the training

• Level 2: Participants’ achievement of training objectives

• Level 3: Transfer of competencies acquired through training to job per­formance or behaviour

• Level 4: Impact of training on organizational performance.

The conclusions from the evaluation are used as feedback for the rest of the SAT phases for training improvement.