Meet Ben Johnson, 23, from Norfolk – a proud Swaffham YFC member. Last November, Ben became a YFC Trainer following a pre-Covid stint dabbling in County treasurer training — a role he found unexpectedly fulfilling. Ben, who works in his family’s funeral business, shares his experience as a YFC Trainer.
Pre-Covid I was Norfolk’s honorary treasurer, and I delivered all the treasury training in Norfolk.
I enjoyed seeing people learn and go from not knowing anything to then being able to review a set of accounts and understand their role. I get quite a lot of satisfaction from helping people – as that’s very much my role at work.
The experience sparked an interest in training and encouraged me to go on NFYFC’s Train the Trainer course so I could get a formal qualification and develop my skills.
It was interesting to learn the different ways you could deliver the training, i.e whether it’s going to be a lecture, theory based or practical.
And it helped me understand the way different people learn based on what you are doing with them.
If the training was all theory based, you may get a few people who will learn a lot but you may lose everyone else and vice versa, as not everyone is completely practical.
My biggest takeaway from the course was that not everyone has the same learning styles.
It has given me confidence when delivering training because I know I am doing it the right way and following the correct structure. I now know about training plans and how to properly plan for a session, so you achieve the most out of it.
I made my own training course for Silo, which I delivered to club officers. And I have delivered the Great Communicators Curve module and will be delivering the Farm Safety one soon.
Great Communicators is the one I like to deliver the most. It’s the course I enjoyed the most as a member. It’s an engaging workshop and you learn how to communicate with people in different roles and settings.
When delivering the harder hitting modules, such as the Minding Your Head workshop, which is focused on mental wellbeing, you need to be mindful of people’s personal experiences. Minding Your Head is a great one to deliver as it could potentially save someone’s life. If a member is struggling, they will know where to get support and it helps other members be aware of different situations as well.
I need to do additional training to be able to deliver that workshop and I’m hoping to do it soon. As a mental health first aider, it’s already an area of interest to me and the ideal workshop for me to deliver.
Turning up to the wrong venue to deliver a session, and no one is there!
It really helps develop your confidence. Once you’ve done a course, you start going out to clubs to deliver training and it’s like public speaking but in a more relaxed setting. I personally find that a better way to gain confidence, and it should have benefits in your career.
It has improved my confidence when presenting, which has helped people trust in the information I am sharing. I can explain things more clearly and effectively get my point across.
Find out more about becoming a YFC Trainer.
Two courses are available to join in March. Please contact your County Organiser to book on.
Date: 9-10 March, 2024, 9.30am-4pm
Location: Tennyson Building, Lincolnshire Showground, Lincoln LN2 2NA
Deadline for booking: 1 March 2024
Date: 16-17 March, 2024, 9.30am-4pm
Location: Devon YFC Offices, Cheriton Bishop, EX6 6JH
Deadline for booking: 8 March 2024