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For an extra-curricular activity that teaches young boys how to sew and examines proper uniform protocol in empty church basements on weeknights, Scouts Canada is pretty innovative.

The organization has been driven by local volunteers in Canadian communities for more than 100 years. Up until now, those volunteers were trained at community centres and churches, requiring them to commit an entire weekend for the purpose.

But these days, it seems, not many people have that sort of time to spend.

Scouts Canada needs 23,000 adults as volunteer leaders to deliver its weekly program to youth, says Ross Francis, executive director of program services.

“Face to face training worked well in some areas, but not really across the board,” he says. “We were looking for a more convenient way for people to dial in and get trained.”

The answer was an e-learning option that would let volunteers take training online.

Launched Sept. 1 on the Scouts Canada Web site, the e-learning portal allows volunteers to complete an orientation and first basic program training package online. Using San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe Systems Inc.’s Connect Pro server and Captivate software, Scouts Canada can now train volunteers over several evenings in front of a computer screen.

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“Attending a full weekend course is virtually impossible for a parent who is juggling kids and work,” says Ron Loves, director, information and technology services at Scouts Canada.

After talking with existing volunteers, Scouts learned that quick access to training was in demand. Volunteers preferred spending their time with scouts interacting with youth at weekly meetings and on camping trips -- not at training workshops. Since launching the program Sept. 1, more than 2,000 volunteers have completed the e-learning course.

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