Vanguard Magazine

18 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2023 www.vanguardcanada.com INTERVIEW Since inception NPTG has made consis- tent improvements to our business model by providing better governance, direction and guidance to the training establish- ments that comprise our organization. We have created a leadership centre of excel- lence embodied by HMCS Venture, a unit that will deliver active training and educa- tion programmes to instill positive cultural change throughout the RCN. While meeting the challenges of today, we are also generating an RCN training ca- pability that will compliment and support future fleet renewal initiatives. Within NPTG we have created the Naval Training System Transformation (NTST) Program. This dedicated team of experts, guided by the FNTS vision, has made sig- nificant progress defining the scope and re- fining details of future ambitions that will see the modernization and recapitalization of the naval training system. They liaise, with several interconnected stakeholder agencies who share overlapping responsi- bilities for the planning, development and acquisition of future training capabilities. The NTST team will continue to ad- vance elements of FNTS independently or in collaboration by whatever methods are appropriate, achievable and opportune. Q The recent RFI response on the FNTS was quite big and the response to the question of how does STORM dovetail with other elements of the FNTS remains of specific interest to industry. Understanding that in the RFI response, the RCN is indicating these are early days, however, can you provide a big- picture overview of where STORM fits into the FNTS? The RFI responses from Industry were very helpful. They helped validate the fea- sibility of the FNTS vision and will con- tinue to influence our planning processes going forward. Defence industry and related business sectors fulfill two crucial roles. They pro- vide invaluable input into requirement definition, and they eventually deliver the project or service through participation in the Public Services and Procurement Can- ada (PSPC) led procurement processes. We use the term FNTS Digital Frame- work (DF) to describe a comprehensive in- formation technology system (standardized business tools, applications and networks) that will support distributed and integrated NPTG business management, training de- velopment and delivery activities. The System of Training and Operational Readiness (STORM) will be a sub-element of the FNTS DF with a direct training nex- us. It is an approved project and subject to all the customary regulations governing Government of Canada tendering pro- cess. To ensure fairness during an active procurement phase, we are constrained in what we can say and how we release in- formation to the public. Our colleagues at The Director Naval Training & Infra- structure Requirements (DNTIR) have stated that additional information on Proj- ect STORM will be provided to industry this Spring (April 6th) during the NAVY OUTLOOK event. Q Given that the RCN schoolhouses have been historically located in Halifax, Esquimalt and Quebec City with each specializing in certain "Centres of Excel- lence" for occupation specific training/ education as prerequisite for career advancement does the RCN envision the ability to train/educate in any geographic area and remove the requirement for extended geographical separation for career coursing? In large part, the motivation for creating NPTG was to reduce duplication of train- ing efforts between the two formation commands. However, specialization of training in the current paradigm gives rise to the second-order consequence wherein personnel must travel and endure separa- tion to attend courses out of geographic area. The identified future solution to ad- dress this challenge is through adoption of technologies that will enable distributed learning. To the degree we are successful in ac- tualizing the necessary investments into FNTS, we will be able to create econo- mies in training development and delivery including greatly reducing (or in some cases eliminating) the need for personnel to relocate to attend courses. Developing technology enabled learning capabilities will also create possibilities to more fully advance the "One Navy" concept by offer- ing previously inaccessible training oppor- tunities to Naval Reserve Force personnel at any of the 24 Division locations across Canada. It is equally certain that some aspects of Royal Canadian Navy Expands Use of Mixed Reality Soware - Kognitiv Spark. Photo: MCpl Ryan Winton, DND-MND Canada Photo: Lt(N) Peter Bigelow, NTDC(A) Fire Testing. Photo: DND

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