TRAIN (or TrainingFinder Real-time Affiliated Integrated Network) is the nation’s premier learning resource for professionals who protect the public’s health. TRAIN is a unique web-based learning management solution that provides a robust clearinghouse of on-site training and distance learning opportunities available in local, state, and national jurisdictions.

TRAIN houses information on over 9,500 public health courses offered by more than 2,200 providers. Visit https://www.TRAIN.org to start searching courses.

TRAIN is designed to serve the growing needs of three distinct customers:

• Learners - All professionals who protect the public’s health who require training and continuous learning to be effective
• Course Providers - Public and private organizations that deliver training related to public health
• TRAIN Affiliates - Organizations responsible for managing, providing, and assessing workforce training information, such as state public health agencies, state and regional training centers, and first responder organizations.

TRAIN is a free resource for both Learners and Course Providers and offers myriad benefits.

Learners can:

• Search or browse the nationwide database for on-site or distance learning courses, conferences, and trainings
• Sign up for e-mails about new courses
• Create personal learning transcripts of competency-based training
• Provide and view feedback about course experiences, effectiveness, and difficulty
• Register online for courses, live courses, and conferences

Course Providers can:

• Efficiently publicize courses to over 225,000 registered learners
• Manage online registration, student rosters, waitlists, and certification
• Collect feedback from learners online Post course materials and discussion topics
• Create online assessments and evaluations to measure the progress of learners

Top

TRAIN Affiliate Program - The Custom Solution to Managing Organizational Training Needs

As TRAIN's popularity among the Learner and Course Provider community grows, public health agencies across the country have expressed an interest in integrating TRAIN's powerful learning management technology into their organizations. TRAIN Affiliates can customize their TRAIN websites, utilizing their state logos and color schemes. States can track the continuing education activities of their workforce, generate reports to manage employee progress, and plan strategies for future educational goals.

To ensure that TRAIN evolves to meet current and future needs, the TrainingFinder Affiliate Consortium (TAC) was created. TAC comprises state-designated leaders from each of TRAIN’s 23 participating states, the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), and the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) Division of Global Migration and Quarantine who meet throughout the year to discuss strategies to strengthen public health workforce development in the U.S. using TRAIN as well as other technologies and policies.

To accommodate this need, PHF now invites agencies to incorporate this technology into their internal technical infrastructure. (See who’s aboard the TRAIN.) As a result, TRAIN Affiliates now have the capability at an organizational level to:

• Effectively identify and manage both the immediate and long-term continuing education needs for their workforce
• Access both local and national distance learning and classroom-based training designed for public health professionals
• Locate "just in time" training to respond to critical public health concerns such as terrorism and natural disasters
• Register learners, track their progress, and issue certificates of course completion
• Create powerful reports to support and analyze performance and accountability

Equally important, TRAIN Affiliates recognize the benefits of being part of a large community of agencies. Affiliates can actively share learning information and training programs through a uniform system. On a continual basis, TRAIN Affiliate Consortium workgroups identify both desired and needed system enhancements, which are often funded by multiple states "sharing" in the development costs. In fact, TRAIN Affiliates saved more than $11 million over just 5 years based on economies of scale achieved through TRAIN when compared to typical learning management system costs. (Source: ASTD) Additionally, Kentucky saved over $3.5 million in 2007 on training for nurses and environmentalists alone. More information can be found in the 2007 Kentucky Return on Investment (ROI). A downloadable copy is available on TRAIN.

Top