Ready Relevant Learning Modernizes Engineering Professional Apprenticeship Career Track

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Cory Asato | GREAT LAKES, Ill. (Mar. 29, 2023)Chief Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Mechanical) Tyler A. Benson, an instructor at Surface Warfare Engineering School Command Great lakes, instructs an Engineering Professional Apprenticeship Career Track class where students utilize mobile electronic training guides in conjunction with their computer workstations in accordance with the Ready Relevant Learning (RRL) concept, which incorporates use of high definition video and improved engagement in the classroom through the use of graphic user interfaces and modernized content increasing student motivation and retention. RRL delivers the right training at the right time in a Sailor’s career, in the right way, so that Sailors are ready to operate their equipment and fulfill their rating requirements, transforming them into highly skilled, operational and combat-ready warfighters. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication 2nd Class Cory Asato)  

GREAT LAKES, UNITED STATES

06.02.2023

Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Cory Asato 

Surface Warfare Engineering School Command Great Lakes

GREAT LAKES, Ill.— Engineering Professional Apprenticeship Career Track (EPACT) at Surface Warfare Engineering Schools Command Great Lakes (SWESC GL) has begun to utilize modernized curriculum developed in support of Naval Education and Training Command’s (NETC) Ready Relevant Learning (RRL) program.
EPACT, formerly Basic Engineering Common Core, equips accession-level Sailors with the basic skills needed to function in an operational shipboard environment, familiarizing students with tools, equipment, naval terminology, safety protocols and procedural compliance.
“All of the staff and faculty at SWESC GL are responsible for the Navy’s long-term investment in each of our accession Sailors’ technical training in seamanship, navigation, repair, and engineering, including associated electrical components,” said Cmdr. Ervin L. Henley, commanding officer, SWESC GL. “In accordance with Naval Education and Training Command’s RRL framework, we are modernizing all of our facilities and classrooms, and equipping each student with mobile interactive electronic training guides. These updates will reflect the equipment our Sailors will operate and maintain aboard ships afloat, simulate real-time repair concerns and allow us to revise content on demand in our fast-paced learning environment.”
Instruction delivery aids at SWESC GL have progressed over the years from overhead projectors to PowerPoint presentations, and further improving into mobile interactive electronic training guides coupled with engaging video content.
“The revised content replaced an outdated PowerPoint delivery method with interactive instructional media,” said Doug Cash, SWESC GL training director. “Live instruction supported with video content, mobile interactive electronic training guides and hands-on practice allow us to further address different learning styles which more efficiently prepares our accession level Sailors to perform and excel in the fleet.”
Utilizing fleet feedback along with efficient delivery methods and state-of-the-art equipment enable SWESC GL instructors to set a solid foundation in each accession level Sailor’s naval journey.
“Tribal knowledge and skills associated with job performance in the fleet that were either not being formally trained, or not being trained completely,” said Cash. “These gapped learning objectives will increase the level of knowledge and the skill set of every engineering rating in the fleet.”
Instructors welcome real-time feedback from Sailors who already fill out course critiques after completion and after certain phases of their training.
“The Sailors are receiving effective, impactful and meaningful training,” said Chief Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Mechanical) Tyler A. Benson, a SWESC GL instructor. “The Sailors thoroughly enjoy diving into the details of their training through this immersive experience. Our students acknowledge they understand and how the training pertains to their rate.”
The RRL framework paired with the naval instructional theory equips SWESC GL instructors with more confidence to train their replacements knowing the baseline accession Sailor is better trained than ever before.
“The course expanded the amount of information, the proficiency which they apply maintenance concepts and critical thinking that our students can use in the fleet,” said Chief Machinist’s Mate Joshua J. Mitchell Jr., EPACT leading chief petty officer. “RRL provided the vision and framework, coupled with the best engineering schoolhouse and instructors in the Navy, setting the crucial foundation of technical skills and environmental exposure needed to set our Sailors up for success. This accession level training acts as a springboard platform for students, the learning, the expectation and responsibilities will only grow in time molding them into expert maintenancemen, watchstanders, and seasoned leaders.”
The U.S. naval fleet’s future highly skilled, operational and combat-ready warfighters are forged through NETC’s RRL doctrine to deliver the right training at the right time in a Sailor’s career, in the right way, so that Sailors are ready to operate their equipment and fulfill their rating requirements.
For more information on RRL, visit: https://www.netc.navy.mil/RRL/.

• Date Taken: 06.02.2023
• Date Posted: 06.02.2023 11:29
• Story ID: 446062
• Location: GREAT LAKES, US