Council Trainings & Certifications
You want to see girls happy, confident, strong, and ready to succeed. We want the same things for you as a volunteer! We know you’ve got a lot of questions about Girl Scouts and we’re ready to help you along the way. We offer personal coaching, online learning, peer mentoring, and a searchable website to find what you need when you need it.
New Leader Orientation is the beginning of your troop leader journey. Start with online training courses in gsLearn. Log into MyGS/My Account and navigate to gsLearn. First, learn what Girl Scouts is all about and what Girl Scouts do. Then, attend a virtual “Coach & Confirm” session to review the Six Steps to Start a Troop and preview the digital resources that come with membership. Soon after, you’ll meet local staff and other volunteers – and most importantly – the girls!
When you’re ready, join us for more trainings listed below. Register online from the Events calendar.
Outdoor Education Training prepares adults to teach basic outdoor skills to Girl Scouts, so they can build outdoor fires safely, cook over a fire, and sleep outdoors.
First Aider Training is an Adult and Pediatric CPR/First Aid/AED certification course valid for two years.*
Archery Instructor Training certifies you to take girls onto archery ranges for target sports practice for three years.
Fall Product Training is a great overview of our autumn chocolate and nut sale to get start-up troop funds at the beginning of the program year.
Cookie Program Training is held every January for Troop Cookie Managers to prepare for the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world, the Girl Scout Cookie Program.
Highest Awards Training gives you guidance to coach girls to complete the most prestigious Girl Scout recognitions: Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards.
Various rotating topics are hosted throughout the year.
And then there’s gsLearn!
Go to MyGS and log into gsLearn to review the Content Library for topics of interest. Check out the courses focused on working with girls like mental health, diversity and inclusion, navigating conflict, and celebrating Girl Scout holidays, plus the Volunteer Toolkit tutorials to help you plan and organize Girl Scout meetings and activities.
If you are looking for additional training and information on youth mental health, we recommend Youth Mental Health First Aid. GSNWGL will host this training in spring 2023. You may also be able to find additional local or online options from the YMHFA website.
*About First Aider trainings
Please see the First Aid section of Safety Activity Checkpoints for the list of GSUSA-approved training organizations.
GSNWGL partners with the American Red Cross to host safety training. If you miss a council-hosted training, search here https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class for course options near you. Search for:
Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED-BL-r.21 (blended learning with both online content and classroom time)
Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED-R.21 (all classroom time)
More advanced courses may also be reviewed and accepted.
