Training Requests

NEW => Training Request

The Training Request module is an automated system to submit, manage, track, and approve employee requests for training.

Flow of Training Requests:

Employee (or person creating request on behalf of another employee) submits the request which is then routed to the selected person for review.  Person(s) assigned select to Recommend or Not Recommend the training and forward the request to the next person. Ultimately the request is approved, or disapproved, by the agency's Training Manager.

• Employee (or person creating request on behalf of another employee) creates a request for training and selects the person to send it to for review.
  • The request is now the approval process, also called Workflow.
• The person selected reviews the request, makes their recommendation, and selects the next person to route this request to for review.
• The request continues through workflow to as many personnel as required until the final person receives the request, generally the Agency's Training Manager.
• The Training Manager updates the Request as Approved or Disapproved.
• If necessary, an employee can cancel their request.

Where to find Your Active Training Requests

Employees will find their Active Training Requests on their Training Dashboard.

Persons approving requests in workflow will find the requests requiring their attention on their PSTracker dashboard.

Training Managers, and those with proper permission, will find all training requests under Manage =>Training Requests.

Alternatively, when in the Training Module, you can use training sub-menus Request button.

Create a Training Request

Click NEW => Training Request which opens a new a screen to begin the process.

if your agency allows employees to create requests on behalf of another employee, you will have a field to select the employee the request is being created for.

If your agency does not allow employees to create requests on behalf of another, you will not have an employee select field and the screen will look like the screenshot below.

From this screen you have three options:

• Begin a New Training Request
• Begin a New Training Request From Scratch
• View Training Course

Begin a New Training Request

With this option, you select a course, from your agency's existing list of courses, to base your request for training.  This options requires the course to already exist within PSTracker.

Begin a New Training Request From Scratch

Begin a request from scratch gives you a "clean slate" to begin your request for training.

View Training Courses

View a list of your agency's Training Courses (if any exist) in PSTracker.

For convenience we provide a Create Request button for each course to quickly start the request.

Example: Create a Request for Training From Scratch

Lets walk through the process of creating a training request from scratch.

Select Begin a New Training Request From Scratch

You are taken to the New Training Request screen

Form Buttons

Add File - Click to attach a file to this request.

Delete Request - Click to delete this request.

Submit Training Request - Click to submit the request.

Save & Reload - Click to save, update and reload the request form.

Save & Exit - Click to save, update, and leave the request, and return to the PSTracker dashboard.

When you click Save and Exit, the Training Request will appear on your dashboard for you to revisit at a later date/time.

Fill out the Request

• Fill in a Course Name and Description.
• Enter the Start and End Dates (Required).
• Enter the Start and End Times (Optional).
• Enter the Total Hours (Required).
• Select or Enter the location of the course (Required).
• The location is a select field.  If the location of your course does not yet exist in the select list, enter in the location and press the TAB key to lock in the new location.
• Enter the address, city, state and zip code.
• Select the Type of Course
• Select the Sponsor (if one exists).
• Select the Registration Process of Course
• Select the Method of Transportation
• Enter the costs and fees associated with this course.
• Enter the Total Estimated Cost for this course (Required).
• If your agency uses them, there may be up to three custom fields to complete.
• Enter the justification for your attendance at this Event.
• Select whom to forward this request to for review.
• If you wish to send the person an email advising them of your request, assure the toggle is on - dark in color. (Default is on - dark in color)
• Click the Submit New Training Request buttons

If the request was created successfully, you are redirected to your My Training screen where you now see one active Training Request.

You can monitor the status of the request from this screen.  To see additional details of the request and approval process, click on the request number to bring you to the request details page. 

From this page you can monitor the status, workflow, notes, files, and event cancel the request.

Request Statuses

There are five possible training request statuses.

Workflow

The request is currently in the workflow review process

Approved

The request has been approved.

Disapproved

The request was been disapproved

Complete

The Training Manager has processed the request and assigned the employee to the event.

Canceled

The request has been canceled, by the employee or Training Manager.

What Happens Next

• The request will been routed to the person you selected.
• Optionally that person receives an email advising them of the request.
• The process (also called workflow) continues until the request is forwarded to the departments Training Manager where it is Approved or Disapproved.

A Note on Workflow

The workflow process uses a "Select the next Reviewer" type format.  When we designed the module, we envisioned the request would go from the employee to a first line supervisor, then possibly to a Lieutenant or Commander, from there to a Deputy Chief, Chief, and then to the Training Manager.  As we understand everyone's process are just a little different, allowing the current reviewer to select the next reviewer seemed to be the best option to fit the widest selection of agencies.  Your agency should determine its own proper review channel.

Additional information

See our other related articles (links below)