External Training captures and tracks training completed outside of the LMS. Administrators 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 can be useful when collecting required training taken outside the LMS or when an organization looks at all training internally and externally to promote employees. These may include certifications that are valid for multiple years and can be obtained outside the LMS from an external resource.

For example, a client in the construction industry may need to make sure Learners have their Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) Training certification prior to entering a construction zone or warehouse. Additionally, the WHIMIS Training may be a pre-requisite to training the client is offering. As this certification can be obtained from an external resource, some Learners may choose to upload their certification via the External Training Tile on the Learner Experience.

External Training Templates

An External Training Template must be created by a System Administrator, before the option can be added to the Learner menu. This is where the System Administrator can design what questions will be asked and which questions will be required or optional.

Creating an External Training Template

1. Navigate to Portal Settings and select the Manage External Training Templates button.
   • Note: Access to manage External Training Templates will only be available to System Administrators. 
     
2. This will take you to the External Training Templates Administration page, where you can see a list of all the Active and Inactive Templates. You can edit an existing Template or create a new Template. To create a new Template, select the External Training Template option in the right side action menu. 
3. Configure your External Training Template (details for each facet of this process are outlined below).
4. Select Save to finishing creating your External Training Template.

General Tab

On this tab, the System Admin will fill out the following fields. 

• Name - Enter the Name of the External Training Template. 
  • This is a required field.
  • This will be visible to the Learner, so you may want to consider a term that is familiar to your Learners. For example, if you are creating this specifically for a training that you commonly track, you could name it after that training. Something like, Food Safety Training or OSHA Training. 
• Is Active - Click the toggle button 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. 
  • Inactive - The External Training Template will only be visible to Admins in the Admin Interface. 
• Approval - Click a radio button to select an option:
  • If None = No Approval is needed for the Learner to submit their External Training.
  • If Supervisor = The Learner's Supervisor must approve the External Training submission. The External Training will not be submitted until the Supervisor approves the request. 
  • If Administrator = A Learner's Department Administrator must approve the External Training submission. The External Training will not be submitted until the Administrator approves the request.
    • Note: All Administrators who can manage the Learner's Department in the LMS will receive the Approval request.
  • If Other = You will select an Admin who will be responsible for approving the External Training submission. The External Training will not be submitted until the specified Admin approves the request.

Fields Tab

Here is where the System Admin can decide which fields need to be visible and Required or Optional. Course Name and Completion Date are fields that Absorb requires, so those are visible and Required for the Learner to fill out automatically. 

Customizing your External Training Template:

• Open Text Field - When creating a new External Training, some fields allow you to pre-populate default answers, not change the label.
• Hidden - The field will not show up for the Learner, but will still be available for the Admin(s) to enter in a value.
• Optional – The field will display to the Learner, but the Learner does not have to enter in a value.
• Read Only – The field and values populated in that field will be visible by the Learner, but they will not be able to edit the value. Only Admins will have the ability to add and edit the value. This is a great way to lock down certain fields that you only want an Admin to manage, for instance Credits or Hours. 
• Required – The field will display to the Learner and the Learner will be required to enter in a value. 

* are Required fields and will automatically display to the Learner. 

Learner Availability

After you have created and saved your External Training Template you will need to add it to the Learner Private Menu or Dashboard, via Setup > Templates. 

1. Navigate to Setup from the Admin menu and select Templates.
2. Find and select the Department Template you would like to make External Training available. If you add it to the top Template, it will be assigned to any child Template(s) that inherits the settings on the Dashboard. 
3. Select Edit.
4. Add External Training as a Tile and/or on the Private Menu. 

Adding a Tile

1. On the Private Dashboard tab, select Content to expand the section. 
2. Scroll to your Tile container or create a new one. 
3. Select the Add Tile button below the existing tiles. 
4. Choose the radio button next to External Training and select 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 will default to External Training, but you can enter in a preferred Title here. 
   • You may also add a description that will display when the Learner hovers over the tile. 
7. Select Save from the popup modal and then Save again from the bottom of your Private Dashboard page. 

Multiple External Trainings

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

Adding to Private Menu

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

Learner View

A learner can fill out 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 for the External Training. If they need to upload more documents, they will need to create a new submission for each document they wish to attach to the External Training.

If an Approver was assigned to the External Training Template, once the Learner saves the External Training request, the set Approver will get a notification email to let them know an External Training request has been submitted. External Training that does not require approval will automatically show in the Learner's Transcript with no further action from an Admin.

External Training Report

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

More information on the External Training Report can be found here.