Trainer
SC Endeavors manages South Carolina’s trainer approval system which was designed to support trainers who provide professional development to early childhood and school-age practitioners. This system was developed with input from numerous statewide sources including professionals involved in the training of early childhood and school-age practitioners. The goal of the system is to improve the quality of learning experiences received by early childhood and school-age practitioners in the state of South Carolina.
The SC Endeavors Registry operates and supports professional development features such as professional profiles, technical assistance, trainer approval and course approval.
Quality training relies on trainers who have background content knowledge and training skills. Quality trainers apply knowledge to practice, effectively communicate knowledge and skills, facilitate adult learning, and are committed to strengthening children, families and communities.
Individuals interested in becoming an SC Endeavors trainer will apply by creating an account and completing the trainer application in the registry. Once validated by SC Endeavors staff, trainers can create courses and schedule events in the registry. Click below to learn more.
SC Endeavors has a policy that is focused on quality assurance of trainings. We use the certified training process to determine the quality of face to face trainings. Only training that has been through a content review using rigorous adult learning and early childhood guidelines may be advertised on the statewide training calendar.
How to Create an Account How to Create a Course How to Create an Event
- Simplified, online roster entry which provides immediate attendance verification for attendees
- Professional Profile including Training Qualifications – online portfolio of your accomplishments, qualifications and training specialties
- Online training outline submission and approval process
- Comprehensive list of courses, classes, reports of training events conducted, etc.
Professionalism and Standards
Trainers are expected to model professionalism and will be held to the standards outlined in the SC Endeavors Trainer Agreement, including the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s Code of Ethics Supplement for Adult Educators.
Trainer Types
All persons desiring to present training for SCDSS required annual training hours, must establish an active registry profile by applying to be a trainer with SC Endeavors. There are 3 types of trainers within the training system.
Registered
Individuals desiring to present training for DSS required annual training hours, must register with CCCCD before conducting training. Registered trainings are approved on an individual basis and the person conducting the training must have an active registry profile which includes career ladder placement. There are no pre-qualifications or educational requirements to become a registered trainer. However, registered trainers are required to have an active registry account and must verify their education within the registry system. While registered training can be documented for DSS credit hours, registered trainers are not able to display training events within the statewide training calendar.
Certified
Individuals who have earned a four-year degree with course work in early childhood content areas, have professional experience in early childhood programs/content areas, and training in teaching adults, can apply to be recognized as a certified trainer. This is a voluntary process that examines the educational and experience qualifications against quality standards for the early childhood field. These individuals are recognized with the higher quality designation of Certified and are expected to conduct a higher quality of trainings based on these requirements. Additionally, these trainers must have an active registry profile which includes placement on the career ladder.
Certified Content Specialist
Individuals who have earned a four-year degree with course work in specialty content areas, have professional experience in said programs/content areas, and training in teaching adults, can apply to be recognized as a certified content specialist. This is a voluntary process that examines the educational and experience qualifications against quality standards for professional development. These individuals meet similar qualifications to a certified trainer in a specialty area other than, but relevant to, early childhood. They are recognized with the higher quality designation of Certified Content Specialist and are expected to conduct higher quality of trainings based on these requirements. Additionally, these trainers must have an active registry profile which includes placement on the career ladder. Certified content specialist trainers can choose to display training events within the statewide training calendar.
Certified Content Specialists are limited to train in topics specific to their area(s) of specialization, as evidenced by the provision of educational documentation including coursework in verified areas of expertise. Content specialists may be individuals who are not within the field of early care and education (example: doctors, lawyers, etc.) Examples of content areas include business practices, technology, health & safety.
Education Clarification
While registered trainers are required to submit education documentation, the type of education received will not prohibit you from providing training within the registered status. Certified trainers are required to have a Bachelor, Master or Doctorate degree with at least 12 hours of core early childhood coursework to be certified in all areas.
Definitions
Related fields include:
- Elementary Education
- Child and Family Studies
- Early Childhood Studies
- Early Childhood Special Education
- School-age Care
Other majors considered with your SC Endeavors Registry Trainer Application includes the areas below.
Individuals with these majors may fall into the trainer category of Certified Content Specialist given they meet the additional requirements.
- Education (general)
- Special Education
- Sociology
- Secondary Education
- Social Work
- Psychology
- Nursing
- Human Services
- Youth Studies
- Administrative
- Library Services
- Nutrition Sciences
- Recreation
Experience Requirement Clarification
- Certified Trainers are required to have at least 2 years of direct experience in early childhood
- Direct Service Experience: Providing direct service to early childhood and/or school aged children as reported and verified on the Employment Tab in the individual profile.
- Directly with children in Early Childhood or School-age programs as an aide, assistant teacher, teacher, family child care provider, early childhood family educator, special education teacher, paraprofessional, assistant group leader, group leader or other experience working directly with children in programs that are appropriate for individuals providing training specific to Early Childhood or School-age care.
- Indirect Service Experience: Providing direct service to adults working with early childhood and/or school aged children as reported and verified on the Employment Tab in their individual profile.
- Inclusion Coordinator or Education Coordinator working in a center-based or family child care home (involves working on-site directly with children and adults in a child care setting on a day-to- day basis).
- Indirect experience may also include providing technical assistance to staff that work directly with children and families at an early childhood or school-age site; or teaching Child Development related courses at a High School, College, or University, serving as a Coach, Consultant or Mentor in a formalized role
- Certified Content Specialists are required to have experience working within their field of expertise. This work experience will be documented within the employment tab of the application
Adult Learning Requirement Clarification
Certified trainer and Certified Content Specialists must complete training related to the design and delivery of learning opportunities for adult learners. There are many ways to satisfy this requirement that include but are not limited to:
- Academic credit courses from accredited colleges and universities related to best practices in adult learning and education (e.g., Staff Training and Adult Development, Training Design and Instruction, Strategies for Teaching Adults, Adult Education).
- Workshops, trainings or conferences directly related to the design and delivery to adult learners by organizations such as the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD).
- Train the Trainer seminar sponsored by CCCCD. (Documentation for this session will be included within your Learning Record/DSS Official Transcript)
- Adult Learning Micro-courses which can be found on the SC Endeavors website…. Completion of all modules is required
Training through an Organization
Organization profiles can be thought of as business accounts. Unlike an individual account, an organization profile allows multiple people to access and manage the profile information.
An organization profile is required if you or your business wishes to provide training to the early childhood workforce. An organization profile allows training sponsors to submit training courses for approval, schedule training that will appear on the Statewide Training Calendar, accept registration, and manage attendance from registration to award DSS credit hours.
Please note that for online training companies utilizing the registry system, only IACET accredited vendors will be able to create public events to display on the statewide training calendar. While we can document online training events from organizations that are not IACET accredited, the events will be not displayed on the statewide training calendar.
Create Your Organization Profile
When setting up an organization profile, check the “Training Sponsor Organization” checkbox that is part of the organization profile application. You will be required to agree to the SC Endeavors organization terms and conditions for approved training sponsors. Approval is not automatic. Registry staff will verify the information you have provided and contact you to discuss the responsibilities of being an approved sponsor of training for the early childhood workforce.
Benefits of being an approved training sponsor
- Offer training that is accepted for DSS child care training credit to the early childhood and school age workforce in South Carolina
- Manage your training using the Registry online attendance tracker, and DSS credit hours to attendees quickly and easily
- Utilize the SC Endeavors online registration feature
- See a history of the training events your organization has provided
Responsibilities of Training Sponsors
Organizations that sponsor training are responsible for the development and management of the courses they provide. The SC Endeavors Registry approves, promotes, and tracks training but it is the responsibility of the training organization to create their courses, submit their courses for approval, meet the approval criteria, manage registration and fee payment/reimbursement, take and reconcile attendance, and award DSS credit hours to attendees. Training sponsors must also agree to utilize trainers who have current professional expertise in the topics being delivered and utilize approved trainers. Training sponsors must maintain records of training attendance for at least 12-months following the training delivery date. Please note that all issues and questions related to a training event will be referred to the training sponsor.
Conference Coordinators
Does your training qualify as a conference?
If you are planning an early childhood conference event, SC Endeavors can help you document these training hours for SC DSS credit. Below are the criteria to determine if your event meets the specifications of a conference.
- At least 50 people will be in attendance
- Keynote/general session is required
- Breakout/concurrent sessions are required
- Conferences should be entered into the registry at least 10 business days in advance for approval. Click here for our conference entry guide.
- Participant attendance should be entered within 10 business after the event has ended. Click here for our conference attendance entry guide.
To offer conference events, you must have an organization profile. Please review additional conference tips within our Conference Tips Guide.
Course Approval
Courses submitted within the SC Endeavors registry will be evaluated by registry staff. All courses are expected to include a breakdown of the length of time, include adult learning strategies as well as meet the topic areas for DSS.
DSS topic areas
The outline components includes: learning objectives, early learning standards alignment, content/instructional plan, training materials needed, training resources & references, method of evaluation, and evaluation/follow-up. Each section must be included, and you may upload additional documents within each section. Registry staff will review the courses submitted and request additional information if needed.
Courses must be at least 1 hour in length to be documented for DSS credit. Courses may be associated with more than one topic area per course if the course is at least 2 hours in length. However, the course content must reflect the selected topic areas and must be addressed within the learning objectives. All courses must be intended for learning with specific learning objectives addressed within the delivery of the course. Meetings, networking or other interactions within a group setting do not qualify as training.
Certified trainers submit courses that require additional information for review such as any handouts and/or PowerPoint used within the training session. Certified trainers use the guidelines for certified trainers to ensure all components are represented within the session. Registry staff reviews the course information and provides a score for approval. If the score does not meet the requirements, registry staff will email the trainer with revisions required. Certified trainers are required to incorporate the SC Early Learning Standards into all content-based training sessions. Use the ELS Guidelines for Trainers document for more information.Click here to view a sample outline for more guidance.
Events
Events must be scheduled within the registry to provide DSS credit hours. The event must be scheduled prior to the date of the training and may not be scheduled retroactively. Scheduling the event produces the attendance roster needed for participants to sign. The roster requires first name, last name, student number/state registry ID, and email address. An attendance verification form is included with your training materials as well. This form will be needed if a participant is new to the field and has not entered the new registry system, or, if a participant does not know their student number/state registry ID.
Managing Attendance
Once an event has been completed, instructors must enter participant attendance within 10 business days.