The company, whose products and services are ideal for the quarrying sector, says the move will strengthen its educational programme and ensure continuity of learning during the current challenging months.
The 'Explosives Awareness' course will be the first to be adapted for the online timetable and will be available from the 5 May, with others being rolled out over the next few weeks. These initial courses will be delivered 'virtually' by knowledgeable members of EPC-UK's explosives engineers department. Each course will cater for up to 20 attendees, all of whom will be able to interact, ask questions and initiate discussions with the instructor and other participants.
The courses will be broken into several interactive modules, which will be taught over a six-week period. Each module will be presented twice a week to provide participants with two separate opportunities to experience the course' live'. Also, all modules will be recorded, and students will be able to access these recordings for up to 30 days after the 'live' date, allowing them to tailor their learning around work and family commitments.
There will also be the opportunity to study individual modules, rather than entire courses, providing even further flexibility in terms of learning and development and enabling students to create an educational path tailored to their specific targets.
"Introducing 'Lifelong Learning Live' to EPC-UK's educational offering has always been in the pipeline as part of our 'Blended Learning' initiative, but the onset of COVID-19 has given us the impetus to launch this resource now," said Rob Farnfield, head of explosives engineering at EPC-UK.
"We understand that many industries – including our own – are currently in a state of flux, but we also know that this is not the time to be standing still. By creating new ways of delivering our courses, we are enabling people within our industry to continue their training or learn a new skill, placing them in a more positive position on their return to work.
As with all EPC-UK courses, the online programme will be accredited by the Institute of Quarrying and will contribute towards attendees CPD (Continuing Professional Development).
James Thorne, CEO of the Institute of Quarrying, commented: "Allowing people to continue their training or further their skill set while working from home will be invaluable to our industry once we are able to return work, so we are pleased to be continuing our support of EPC-UK through the accreditation of its training courses."
