International occupational hygiene training -- sharing experiences and feed back of Occupational Hygiene Training Association's (OHTA’s www.OHLearning.com) international certification course in India

Introduction
Awareness to occupational Health and Hygiene has been steadily gaining ground over the past few years in India. However, skilled human resources are still very limited with quality training programs few and far between. The recently launched Occupational Hygiene Training Association (OHTA) offering freely downloadable training modules at www.ohlearning.com and its internationally recognized certification scheme appear to be a valuable resource for providing affordable training and certification to professionals in developing economies. As a part of our continuing efforts to enhance capacity in Occupational Hygiene, OHTA’s certification course was conducted for the first time in India, the evaluation, experiences and feed back of which would be shared with the audience.

Methods
W501, OHTA’s training module on Measurement of Hazardous Substances was conducted by nayati International in collaboration with WHO collaboration centers from India and South Africa, Nektar Therapeutics and the Indian Institute of chemical Technology (IICT). The practical component of the course was sponsored by SKC, Inc, USA and its Indian affiliate Swan Environmental. The 5-day certification course which included both lectures and hands-on laboratory practical sessions was concluded after the student written assessment conducted as per the requirements of OHTA and the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS).

Results
22 delegates from around India participated in the course. The content and presentation material including the hands on practical sessions was found to be comprehensive. The faculty found the training module very well organized, complete and thorough and the internationally recognized certification component built into the training process enhanced the quality and value of the course.

Discussion
Availability of detailed freely accessible training modules are a valuable resource for the international OHS professional community making the challenging task of human resource development and continuing education affordable and efficient. Detailed feedback and challenges faced by the faculty and participants will be shared with the audience.