The Importance of Multi-Lingual Training in Security
In honor of Cinco de Mayo, we celebrate alongside our Spanish-speaking communities, demonstrating our appreciation by offering some of the most popular ESA National Training School (NTS) courses in Spanish.
A few years ago, after speaking with customers and conversing with another security association, ESA discovered a gap in industry certification courses, training and education — educational opportunities in the security industry offered in Spanish were few and far between.
“We had several customers tell us that their Spanish-speaking technicians would really benefit from having the course, CAT Level I, taught in their native language,” explains Michelle Yungblut, chief knowledge officer for ESA. “We also had several conversations with the Latin American Security Association (ALAS), and they let us know there was a shortage of online certification and training programs, so we really felt we could fill this gap.”
So, ESA went to work, translating NTS’ CAT Level I course into Spanish.
“All the materials are in Spanish including the course manual, online course presentations and exam,” Yungblut says. “There is no video of [actual Spanish-speaking] instructors, but there is voice over within the online course that is in Spanish.”
ESA’s CAT Level I in Spanish was discovered by The Latin Press — a multimedia company dealing with Latin American businesses since 1992 with offices in Miami, Fla., Colombia and Brazil.
“The leaders of Latin Press were hearing from their security customers that there are few training opportunities in their regions, especially those that lead to a certification or credential, that would allow them to stand out to their customers,” Yungblut explains. “Latin Press researched and saw that the Electronic Security Association had a long-standing training program that was well-recognized across the U.S. with some courses in Spanish.”
The Latin Press reached out to ESA and a partnership was formed.
“We established a licensing agreement with them in July 2020,” recalls Yungblut, noting Latin Press’ wide readership throughout Latin America and across many different disciplines.
Because of this partnership, ESA has received wider recognition of our training including new customers from Chili, Costa Rica and Mexico.
“The Latin Press shares in the profits from these sales and can provide a new service — security- and fire-related certification courses — to their customers,” identifies Yungblut.
To continue our quest of furthering educational diversity and inclusion in the electronic security and life safety industry, we are devoted to providing more courses in Spanish.
“We also have our FASA BASA course in Spanish, and on the horizon, we are planning to covert our Fire Alarm Installation Methods course into Spanish as well,” Yungblut offers.
When learning, remember that it is easier for students to understand and grasp new concepts and course material in their native language. This boosts student’s confidence, helping to diminish barriers to learning, therefore leading to employees who are confident in their knowledge and skills – the better the training the better the contribution to the industry.
¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo a la industria de la Seguridad!
