TRAINPOST has seen unprecedented growth in course registration – from 192 participants in 2006 to 4,100 today.
The International Bureau’s Lahcène Chouiter, programme manager for human resources development and training within the development cooperation directorate, attributes the rapid growth of TRAINPOST, the UPU's online training platform, to an increase in the courses offered and languages available.
“We are increasing our target population,” he says. “We started with three languages – English, French and Arabic. Now we are also adapting courses into Spanish so that the Latin American countries can benefit from the platform.”
TRAINPOST offers 43 courses covering as many training needs as possible. Participants also receive certification for completed courses.
The courses are validated by UPU experts and can be delivered in a classroom or on the virtual platform. Now that Internet access is more readily available in developing countries, online course participation has grown exponentially.
Originally designed to equip postal managers with the skills necessary to manage postal operations in developing countries, TRAINPOST was revamped in 2006 to include high-quality courses available in a virtual environment for all levels of postal workers in member countries.
Areas of training include postal reform and regulation, postal products, financial services, management of postal operations, management techniques, human resources and training development and postal technologies.
Until this year, TRAINPOST courses revolved around basic operations including letterpost, philately, parcels and EMS. This July, the platform will launch a course in e-services.