Digital Innovation Meets the Growing Demand for Mental Health Training
Andy Thompson speaks with Jason Smith, Director at zero78training Ltd, providing professional accredited mental health training. Jason is a freelance trainer and consultant, highly experienced in implementing the changes required to create a physically and psychologically safe environment for employees.
What is the background to zero78training Ltd?
As the Director and Lead Trainer I have been delivering this training for nearly 8 years. I started delivering mental health training in 2013 whilst serving in the military and working in the area of operational stress management. I soon realised that stress and other mental illness was not always a product of military service.
With 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 10 children experiencing mental ill health there is a huge demand to support and train those supporting others. In addition, I also deliver training to those supporting the armed forces and veteran community.
The demand has always been great but with the events of 2020-21 the demand is increasing substantially.
The company was officially formed in 2020 during the COVID pandemic.
At present I see general demand rising and a demand in more bespoke niche training for specific organisations wanting a more tailor-made solution. The downside is I also see a rise in trainers who lack experience in the field or a credible background trying to cash in on the demand.
What’s the nature and structure of the training?
We offer courses for anyone supporting adults, children and young people and members of the armed forces and veteran community. We work with organisations and employers to provide solutions to keep their staff, clients, and communities safe and healthy.
Our training is delivered online, or face to face, to the Mental Health First Aid England (MHFA) syllabus.
The training helps clients gain a better understanding of mental health and mental illness, become more confident in supporting people and gain a greater understanding of where to signpost people to for professional or other help.
We currently deliver 2 day and half day online or COVID-19 safe, face-to-face training. It is professional and accredited and is delivered by closely regulated trainers which sets us apart from others.
With awareness of mental health issues increasing, there is a growing industry in its management. How do you differentiate yourself?
As a small business we are able to offer the same high-quality training as larger providers but without the high prices. We pride ourselves on our values of being HAPPI – honest, accepting of all, professional, passionate and showing integrity.
All of our trainers have completed the MHFA England trainer programmes, conduct annual CPD and have their feedback monitored. As MHFA England trainers our products and our training services are proven and validated to ensure they remain of the highest quality. This is what sets us apart from other training providers. We operate to the MHFA England charter and all delegates receive certification from MHFA England upon completion of their training.
What innovations have you encountered in the training niche in which you operate?
The COVID pandemic provided an opportunity to accelerate the move to online learning which has many benefits, both now and post COVID, allowing us to reach a wider audience and not be limited by local delegate numbers.
The move to online training has been the biggest change to date but also the development of other products to reflect the difference in support needed between adults and children.
We are using the Enabley online learning hub, which is great, but we also have the flexibility to use MS Teams or Zoom if the client needs us to. Our training management dashboard allows all course bookings, resources and feedback to be done digitally increasing speed, offering greater flexibility and minimising physical contact.
What challenges and frustrations would you highlight about this niche?
Finding clients – unlike physical first aid which has a legislative requirement – as yet the same does not apply for mental health so it can often be a battle to convince organisations to release their resources for mental health training. The lack of legislative requirement and regulation of the sector is troublesome. I see a lot of dubious claims about mental illness being made to attract business which is frustrating.
The rise in demand has seen a rise in ‘other’ products and trainers offering low cost, low quality training.
Looking forward – growing and maintaining the client base will always be a challenge – many employees want to do the training but it’s difficult sometimes to get employers to buy into it. It is also challenging as a Ltd Co provider as most funding grants are not available to a Ltd Co.
A continuous frustration is how important the issues are, and training is, but how reluctant employers are to facilitate it. A CMI study found over 70% of managers accept supporting their employee’s wellbeing is their responsibility but less than 25% had received any training in how to do this.
I would hope we would see legislation forcing employers to do more and more funding being made available for training to be delivered especially by small companies such as ours.
As a new company, you are really just getting started – but what have you learnt so far?
Touch wood, I have yet to have a delegate tell me the training was a waste of time, but I think the biggest impact for me is I often hear people say they wish they had known this stuff earlier! This is especially common amongst middle managers who realise they have a responsibility, know there is an issue but do not have the resources or understanding to do anything about it.
The biggest lesson to date is take everything with a pinch of salt. If every potential client booked all of the training they talk about then I would be well on my way to retirement. We have had some big offers that have come to nothing, so I suppose my lesson learned is to be patient!
We have been very lucky to work with some committed people from great organisations who have relayed how much the gained from our courses.
“Fantastic course that I believe all people in the workplace should attend in order to fully understand issues related to mental health and offer help and support where needed” and “A really worthwhile course, the face-to-face delivery is gold plated, it was certainly time well spent”.
What advice can you relay to those interested in engaging in this sort of training, from both a candidate and an employer perspective?
For prospective candidates, a lot of what we teach is designed to be able to be applied to support other people but equally it can be applied to yourself, family, and friends to keep you mentally healthy.
For businesses, the advice is: do not fall for ‘cheap is good’ but equally don’t assume the more you pay the better the training is; it often means the lunch is better! Do your research, ask how long the trainer has been training and do not be scared to ask for references or copies of feedback from previous courses.
All of our feedback goes directly to MHFA England so they can monitor performance and address any concerns if there were to be any; thankfully to date there has not.
What specific traits do you admire in training providers you have seen?
There are lots of veteran owned businesses I could recommend across a number of sectors but the one thing that sets them apart within their respective sectors is their passion for what they do.
Yes, veteran owned businesses want and need to make money, like any other business, but most of them are doing what they do because they passionately believe in their products and services and tend to only use high quality, trusted employees.
Jason can be reached via info@zero78training.co.uk or visit www.zero78training.co.uk
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