External Training captures and tracks training that Learners complete outside of the LMS. Admins can create forms, called External Training Templates, that collect required and optional information about the training the Learner completed. External Training can be made available as a Tile on the Dashboard or within the Private Menu, for all Department Templates or just selected Department Templates.

External Training is useful when you collect required training taken outside the LMS, or when your organization reviews all training, internal and external, to promote employees. This may include certifications that are valid for multiple years and can be obtained from an external resource.

For example, a client in the construction industry may need to confirm that Learners hold their Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) Training certification before entering a construction zone or warehouse. The WHMIS Training may also be a prerequisite to training the client offers. Because this certification can be obtained from an external resource, some Learners may choose to upload their certification through the External Training Tile in the Learner Experience.

Permissions

Access to External Training is controlled by two Admin Role permissions, plus the access required to reach the template pages:

• View External Training Submissions - Required to open the External Training report, the External Training Templates report, and individual submissions.
• Modify External Training Submissions - Required to approve, decline, edit, or delete a submission, and to delete a Template. Any Admin acting as an Approver must hold this permission.
• Modify Users - Required for the External Training Templates option to appear. This option is available only within the Admin's own portal.

External Training Templates

An External Training Template must be created before the option can be added to the Learner menu. The Template is where you design which questions are asked and which are required or optional.

Creating an External Training Template

Follow these steps to create a new External Training Template:

1. Navigate to the Portal Settings in the Admin Experience (AE). 
2. Click Manage External Training Templates from the right hand side.
3. On the External Training Templates page, review the list of Active and Inactive Templates. You can edit an existing Template or create a new one.
4. Click External Training Template in the right side action menu to open the Add External Training Template page.
5. Configure the Template using the General and Fields sections described below.
6. Click Save to finish creating your External Training Template.

General Tab

On this tab, complete the following fields:

• Name - Enter the Name of the External Training Template.
  • This is a required field.
  • This is visible to the Learner, so consider a term that is familiar to your Learners. For example, if you are creating this for a training you commonly track, you could name it after that training, such as Food Safety Training or OSHA Training.
• Is Active - Click the toggle to choose a status: Inactive or Active. The default setting is Inactive.
  • Active - The External Training Template can be added to the Learner Dashboard or menu. Only Active Templates can be used to submit External Training.
  • Inactive - The External Training Template is visible only to Admins in the AE.
• Approval - Click a radio button to select an option:
  • None - No Approval is needed. The submission is approved as soon as the Learner submits it.
  • Supervisor - The Learner's Supervisor must approve the External Training submission.
  • Administrator - An Admin who manages the Learner's Department or Group must approve the External Training submission.
    • Note: All Administrators who can manage the Learner's Department in the LMS receive the Approval request.
  • Other - Select the specific Admin or Admins responsible for approving the submission in the Other Approval field. Only the Users named here can approve.

Fields Tab

This tab is where you decide which fields are visible to the Learner and whether they are Required or Optional. Course Name and Completion Date are required by Absorb, so they are automatically visible and Required for the Learner to complete.

For each field, you can set a default value and choose a view option. Field labels cannot be changed. The view options are:

• Required - The field displays to the Learner and the Learner must enter a value.
• Optional - The field displays to the Learner, but the Learner does not have to enter a value.
• Read Only - The field and any populated value are visible to the Learner, but they cannot edit the value. Only Admins can add and edit the value. This is a useful way to lock down fields you want an Admin to manage, such as Credits or Hours.
• Hidden - The field does not display to the Learner, but remains available for Admins to enter a value.

Note: The Upload File field supports Required, Optional, and Hidden only. Some fields have a fixed view option that cannot be changed.

The following fields are available on an External Training Template:

* These fields are required and display to the Learner automatically.

Learner Availability

After you create and save your External Training Template, add it to the Learner Private Menu or Dashboard through Setup > Templates.

Use the following steps to make External Training available:

1. Navigate to Setup from the Admin menu and click Templates.
2. Find and click the Department Template where you want to make External Training available. If you add it to the top Template, it is assigned to any child Templates that inherit the settings on the Dashboard.
3. Click Edit.
4. Add External Training as a Tile, on the Private Menu, or both.

Adding a Tile

Use the following steps to add an External Training Tile to the Private Dashboard:

1. On the Private Dashboard tab, click Content to expand the section.
2. Scroll to your Tile container or create a new one.
3. Click the Add Tile button below the existing tiles.
4. Click the radio button next to External Training and click Save.
5. Click the Edit button on the External Training Tile.
6. Select the External Training Template from the Template drop down field.
   • The Title populates with a default value, and you can enter a preferred Title here.
   • You can also add a description that displays when the Learner hovers over the tile.
7. Click Save in the popup modal, then click Save again at the bottom of your Private Dashboard page.

Multiple External Trainings

Multiple External Training Template Tiles can be added to a single Dashboard (theme). If multiple External Trainings are necessary, each one requires its own Tile.

Adding to Private Menu

Use the following steps to add External Training to the Private Menu:

1. On the Settings tab, click Private Menu to expand the section.
2. Scroll past the existing items selected on the menu and click Add Menu Item.
3. From the drop down field, select External Training.
   • Note: External Training defaults to the bottom of the menu. You can move it to a different position by clicking and dragging, or by using the arrows on the right side of the menu item.
4. Click Save to apply your changes.

Learner View

Learners open the External Training form from the Tile or Private Menu item. The form displays only the fields that are not set to Hidden on the Template, and enforces the Required and Read Only settings you configured.

A Learner can complete and submit an External Training submission as many times as they wish, but they cannot edit an existing submission. Only one file can be uploaded per External Training submission. If they need to upload more documents, they must create a new submission for each document they wish to attach.

Each submission is assigned one of the following statuses:

If an Approver was assigned to the External Training Template, the submission is recorded as Pending Approval and the assigned Approver receives a notification email letting them know an External Training request has been submitted. External Training that does not require approval is approved immediately and appears in the Learner's Transcript with no further action from an Admin.

External Training on the Transcript

Submissions appear in an External Training table on the Learner's Transcript, including submissions that are still Pending Approval. The table displays the course name, a status indicator, and the completion date, along with a Details button for the full submission.

External Training also appears on the printable transcript, and on the User Transcript when an Admin views a User in the AE.

External Training Report

External Training requests are managed from the External Training report, found under the Reports section of the Admin menu. All submissions, including those that do not require approval, are listed in this report. From this report you can Edit, Approve, Decline, or Delete a submission.

Available columns include the username, Template, status, score, start, completion and expiry dates, supervisor, vendor, vendor address, department, description, cost, grade, credits, total time spent, whether the submission includes a document, and who added or edited the record. A separate External Training Templates report lists the Templates in your portal.

For more information, see the External Training Report article.