Training is an important part of learning to become an effective leader. The important scouting position you hold will be easier and more effective once you develop the skills necessary to deliver a quality scouting program every Cub Scout, Scouts BSA, Sea Scout, and Venturer desires. Every youth member of Scouting deserves a Trained Leader.

Trained leaders are critical to the success of Scouting. Every young person involved in the Scouting program needs and deserves a leader who understands the aims of the program and knows how to deliver it with enthusiasm and fun. Trained leaders are more effective at delivering the promise of Scouting because they understand their role, responsibilities, and the resources available to them.

WHAT MAKES A TRAINED LEADER?

Adult unit leaders are considered trained, and eligible to wear the official “Trained” emblem, once they have completed the basic training requirements outlined below. Supplemental and advanced training for adults and youth training opportunities are also listed below.

PLEASE NOTE:
Training Scholarship Applications are reviewed quarterly and must be submitted on the 1st of the Month (March, June, September, & December) to be reviewed later that same month. Scholarships will be awarded based on a portion of the total cost as posted on the registration website (the amount will vary based on event).

Questions about training?

Contact the MCC Training Chair at training@michiganscouting.org or your District Training Chair from the Training Contacts list.

Youth Protection and most Position Specific Training can be taken online at My.Scouting.  There are in-person options for many of these training courses as well – check the calendar or scroll down for in-person options.  

For the most up to date listing of courses required to be considered “Trained”, visit the Scouting America Position Specific Requirements page.

A Trained Leader is a Prepared Leader.  And those Prepared Leaders should be recognized.  Check out the Training Awards below for your level.

NOTE: Training Awards require multiple signatures, including the District Training Chair.  You can find your district’s chair on the Training Contacts List.

First Aid, CPR, and Wilderness First Aid

A leader is always prepared.  And part of being prepared is knowing how to respond to medical emergencies at meetings, outings, and high adventure events.  Even a simple cut can become infected and turn into a major medical event, so know how to treat all of the common injuries and conditions your Scouts and leaders may encounter on the trail.  These courses are recommended for adult leaders and older Scouts.

Wilderness first aid, or “WFA”, is a generic term that commonly refers to any training course that focuses on prevention, assessment, and treatment for an ill or injured person in a remote environment where definitive care by a physician and/or rapid transport is not readily available, i.e.,  being an hour or more away from advanced care.  WFA courses are intended for anyone planning a remote high adventure, from lay responders to medical professionals.  Youth (14 years old and up) and adult Scout leaders are encouraged to take a 16-hour WFA course based on the specific curriculum developed by the BSA, which includes a management dimension that most course fail to address.   High adventure bases have requirements on the number of participants that must be current with their WFA training (which lasts for two years).

2025 Dates:

Session 1: Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2025
Session 2: Feb 7 – Feb 9, 2025

Both session are being held at Camp Rotary in Clare, MI

OKPIK Winter Outdoor Training

OKPIK, which is Inuit for “Snowy Owl,” is the Cold Weather Camping Adventure program offered by the Boy Scouts of America.  OKPIK will give you the skills to go where few dare.

This two day and two night adventure develops confidence and skills in camping and living in the outdoors during extreme weather conditions. Receive training in physical preparation, cold weather dress, first aid and emergency procedures, food and water, equipment use while experiencing cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and winter shelter building.

OKPIK is state-of-the-art training to give leaders, (both youth and adult), confidence in taking groups into a cold environment and support a year-round camping program. Our cold weather training is appropriate only for those leaders and campers who already have basic Scouting skills and mild weather camping experience. Our training includes skills that can ensure a successful, fun and safe cold weather camping experience. These must know skills are important because cold weather camping mistakes can be serious and certainly are not something upon which to build young Scout’s experience.

Level 1: Participants learn basic winter camping skills and spend both nights indoors
Level 2: Participants put the skills learned in Level 1 into practice and spend 1 night indoors and 1 night outdoors in a shelter they build
Level 3: Participants learn advanced winter camping skills and spend both nights outdoors in a shelter they build
Veteran: Participants who have completed all 3 levels of OKPIK can come back as a Veteran, spending the whole weekend outdoors and learning how to become an OKPIK Staff member.

Ages 13 – Adult

Safety Afloat Training

BSA groups shall use Safety Afloat for all boating activities. Adult leaders supervising activities afloat must have completed Safety Afloat training within the previous two years. Cub Scout activities afloat are limited to council, district, pack, or den events that do not include moving water or float trips (expeditions). Safety Afloat standards apply to the use of canoes, kayaks, rowboats, rafts, floating tubes, sailboats, motorboats (including waterskiing), and other small craft, but do not apply to transportation on large commercial vessels such as ferries and cruise ships. To access the updated training, log onto my.Scouting.org and search the catalog in the BSA Learn Center for “Safety Afloat.”

All new direct contact leaders must complete Hazardous Weather Training to be considered position trained. Many Scouting programs take place in the outdoors. This training discusses how to manage risks from the weather to our Scouting family. There are several incident reviews which are appropriate to share with leaders who may question why an appreciation of the risks in our outdoor classroom are important.

This course is available around-the-clock in the BSA Learn Center by logging in to your account on My.Scouting.org

BSA groups shall use Safe Swim Defense for all swimming activities. Adult leaders supervising a swimming activity must have completed Safe Swim Defense training within the previous two years. Safe Swim Defense standards apply at backyard, hotel, apartment, and public pools; at established waterfront swim areas such as beaches at state parks and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes; and at all temporary swimming areas such as a lake, river, or ocean. Safe Swim Defense does not apply to boating or water activities such as waterskiing or swamped boat drills that are covered by Safety Afloat guidelines.

This course is available around-the-clock in the BSA Learn Center by logging in to your account on My.Scouting.org

Reflecting the best of nearly a century of Scouting experience, Wood Badge draws upon the most current leadership models used by corporate America, academic circles and successful organizations throughout the country.

Wood Badge training was begun by Baden Powell in 1919 as a way to insure that the leaders of Scout troops were properly trained. Since then Wood Badge has been held worldwide, providing  advanced leadership training to thousands of Scout leaders. Wood Badge builds upon the best traditions and experiences of the Boy Scouts of America and also draws from a wide range of courses within and beyond the bounds of Scouting to present the latest in leadership theory and team development.

By taking Wood Badge, Scouters will acquire valuable tools such as listening, communicating, conflict management, project planning and leading change.  Participants will better learn to understand and appreciate diversity and differences in our society. They will learn skills that will make them a better Scout leader. Units with trained leaders are able to deliver an improved program and a more meaningful experience for the youth Scouting serves.

By attending Wood Badge, the participants will internalize the 5 themes of Wood Badge: Living the Values, Growing, Connecting, Guiding, Empowering.

Wood Badge is designed to meet the advanced leadership needs of all Scouters, particularly unit level Scouters, such as Cub leaders, Scoutmasters and
assistants, Venturing Crew Advisors, Committee Chairs and members. Additionally Scouters serving at the district and council levels can achieve greater effectiveness through Wood Badge.

To attend a Wood Badge course, individuals must:

1. Be registered members of the Boy Scouts of America. (Youth 18 and older may attend as long as the appropriate Youth Protection guidelines are followed. They do not need to be registered in an adult leadership role.)
2. Have completed the basic training courses for their Scouting position.
3. Be capable of functioning safely in an outdoor environment. All participants are required to complete the Annual Health and Medical Record form.

Wood Badge Video

Do you want to learn how to take your Unit’s program to the next level? Do you want to experience exciting high adventure activities first hand? Do you want to go home with resources that you need to add these activities to your program? Then Powder Horn is for you!!

The Powder Horn course is designed to help the troop, team, or crew by exposing older Scouts, Venturers, and adult leaders to safely conducted outdoor/high-adventure activities of a fun and challenging nature. The course provides an introduction to the resources needed to successfully lead youth through a program of outdoor adventure and is based upon giving participants an exposure to some outdoor/high-adventure activities. The course presenters are expert consultants, from inside and outside of Scouting, in each outdoor high adventure activity. It is for any youth or adult interested in experiencing a unit-level, high-adventure program.

THE POWDERHORN PROGRAM IS BEING DISCONTINUED AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2024