CRS mediation training courses have moved online. Photo: File.
Conflict Resolution Service (CRS) has joined the ranks of online trainers with their accredited mediation training now available in the comfort of your own home.
Mediation for dispute resolution is being increasingly incorporated in state and commonwealth legislation to move disputes away from adversarial processes into more collaborative systems.
CRS Lead Trainer Ros Lockley says the course is designed to support the practice of mediation across a broad range of government and private sectors.
“With no possibility of face-to-face teaching we had to be creative so we took this opportunity to make our training available online. We decided that we would rather run the courses online than postpone them. We have had such positive feedback from the first course we will be offering an online option post-COVID-19,” Ros said.
The content is the same as in the face-to-face course with a facilitator and two trainers deliver the lessons.
“The challenge when running a course such as this is that you need to be able to get cues from the students and listen attentively. That’s why we have two trainers. While one is teaching the other is actively watching and listening to the students.”
One of the unintended benefits of running the course online is that students from the regions did not have to travel to Canberra and pay for accommodation. The online course is delivered in five days over three weeks with a sixth day for those who would like to be nationally accredited as a mediator.
Wagga Wagga-based student Sue Brereton said it was easier for her to do a five-day online course rather than take time off to travel to Canberra.
“Doing the course by live teleconferencing was really just like a classroom experience. It was all on Zoom. We even we had break-out rooms so that we could do our role plays and then come back to the group. There were five people in the course. That was a good size and the CRS staff members were there to assist with the exercises.
“Face-to-face contact is nice but it is not essential. There were plenty of breaks, the only thing missing was the muffins and coffee,” Sue said.
Ros Lockley says participants will graduate with the practical skills to diagnose and respond to conflict including the insight to tailor practices and strategies to different settings and provide a pathway to a rewarding career in mediation.
Successful completion of the training will satisfy the training requirements under the National Mediation Accreditation Standards and meet pre-requisite Mediation Training requirements to undertake further studies towards accreditation as a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner.
“We are pleased to have the opportunity to continue with training at this time. We are certainly enjoying the process. This is a great opportunity while people are not at work.”
The next online course starts on 18 May with further courses scheduled for June, July, August and September. The next face-to-face course is scheduled for September.
For more details or to register for the Mediation Training Program visit Conflict Resolution Service.
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