ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the selection both of trainers and of courses, which is often delegated to a single individual. Consequently, the choice will reflect many of these individuals’ own personal preferences and biases. The choice itself—whether to select a trainer to run a workshop, to buy a training pack, or to send someone on a course—will impact on the positive transfer of learning to the work context. The verb “to train” perhaps offers the widest range of interpretations and provides trainers with an opportunity to reflect metaphorically on the product of their labours. In the field of child protection there are professionals who are employed as trainers within departments, usually Social Services. In going into an agency as a trainer, one has little control over selection of applicants. This will impact most potently when the trainer attempts to engage the group in the learning task.
