Once upon a time, Nadzrin had an idea, to develop a course that would help educators to learn how to teach online. So, he sat down and with the help of his teachers, designed it to be as fun and effective as possible.

He asked around to see if there was any interest, but there wasn’t. So he kept his little idea, deep in a folder in his hard drive. That was 2019.

Suddenly, 2020 became the year of working, learning, living and shopping online. Schools shut down, tuition centres closed down and trainers lost client work.

For those who had salaries, it was easier to survive, but for those whose only income was paid freelance training jobs, it was a nightmare.

Then, a glimmer of hope. Online training became a thing. But trainers were scared to adapt to the change. They didn’t know where and how to start. Friends who knew that Nadzrin had been active as a virtual learning facilitator since 2011 asked him to teach them.

First, through articles, then through a webinar, then through an ebook. But they wanted more, they needed more. Nadzrin thought, maybe it’s time to dust off that old course. Hidden away in a nested folder, he found it: The VLC | Virtual LearnCaster Certification. But, it was incomplete.

So, he quickly redesigned it to fit the current requirements and put out an ad, not knowing if it will get any traction. He limited the intake to 24 participants, thinking he would never reach that number.

Then, 10 happened, 20 happened, 30 happened and finally 40 happened.

May 2020 was the month of the very first pilot cycle of the VLC Certification and wow was it a ride. The VLCs who graduated were so happy with their experience that they told others.

Through word of mouth, VLC Cycle 2.0 in June 2020 filled up immediately with 33 trainers and staff of the Malaysian Institute of Management.

But it wasn’t over yet. Requests kept pouring in and he opened registration for another cohort to run concurrently, thinking it would be a smaller class.

Again, it filled up fast and both VLC 2.0 and 3.0 ran together with a total of 84 learners.

To ensure quality of delivery, Nadzrin quickly upskilled 17 of the best performing learners from Cycle 1.0 as VLC Facilitators to assist him and eventually learn how to run the course themselves.

Both cycles were a rousing success and in July 2020, Cycle 4.0 went from zero registrations to full house within 2 weeks.

All VLCs who graduate from the course become part of the VLC Family, a professional learning community that helps and supports each other.

The VLC Facilitators are currently building a virtual home for the Family, a place where they can gather, learn, teach and earn.

Some of the highlights of the journey so far include being mentioned in a case study next to big names such as the WHO, Harvard Business School, Sage, MDEC and Sunago.

Also, the VLCs so far come from 23 different countries around the world.

Even more exciting is the prospect of the VLC Certification being run in the Middle East and the USA soon.

Not to mention more exciting, exciting(!) projects with institutions who want the VLC Facilitators to quickly upskill their teachers and lecturers nationwide to be able to deliver and engage online.

Within 2 years, the VLC Family has grown from 0 to 700+ members. Beginning 2025, the VLC Certification is now active in the Middle East. It will be amazing to see where this community can go next.

Ever since we started the VLC | Virtual LearnCaster Certification, there's been a great interest in alternatives to the VLC. Most of them are paid, but some of them are free.

For your convenience, I've compiled a list of certifications offered by individuals and organisations around the world in virtual learning facilitation. Enjoy!:

https://www.td.org/education-courses/facilitating-virtual-training-certificate

https://www.creativedgetraining.co.uk/course-categories/virtual-ttt/

https://www.trainingliveandonline.com/2018/online_virtual_trainer.cfm

https://elearningindustry.com/elearning-events/online-virtual-trainer-certificate

https://www.courses.ie/blog/sqt-training-train-the-trainer-transition-to-virtual-delivery/

https://ruletheroomtrainthetrainer.com/virtual-training-mastery/

https://www.thevirtualtrainingteam.co.uk/train-the-trainer

https://www.reed.co.uk/courses/train-the-trainer-virtual-virtual-training-master-class/250111

https://www.trainingliveandonline.com/2020/online_virtual_trainer.cfm

https://www.trainsmartinc.com/workshops/training-professionals/how-to-facilitate-virtual-training/

https://netspeedlearning.com/virtual-learning/facilitation/

https://mce.eu/programmes/lxl_68115/

https://www.insynctraining.com/certificates/

https://www.thelpi.org/certification/colf/

https://trainersfederation.org/gtf-online-train-the-trainer-certification

https://neucodetalent.com/events/certified-virtual-trainer-ttt-program/

https://www.skillsconverged.com/TraintheTrainer/SelfStudyCourse.aspx

https://www.virtualfacilitation.com/