What's the Difference Between RLI & PETS? 

November 18, 2008 

Several Rotarians have posed the question recently: "How is RLI Different from PETS (President Elects Training Seminar)?" I have expanded the FAQ Frequently Asked Questions Page of this website to provide the following answer. While this article lists some of the differences (and similarities), the more I think about it, the more distinctions I can make. Maybe there will need to be a Part II !  

First, RLI is targeted toward "prospective club leaders" and those who wish to learn more about Rotary. PETS is job-specific training, for the role of being Club President. 

The standard  PETS curriculum is a 1 1/2 day course with one segment each on Club Administration, Rotary Foundation, Membership, and Service Projects, along with District Sessions on Roles & Responsibilities, Goal Setting  and Publicity. These are all geared toward that President's specific year of service as President. However, we all hope that the knowledge a President gains from PETS training and the experience of their year as the leader of the club inures to the benefit of the club for the duration of their membership.    

Obviously, President-Elects come from many backgrounds and start from many different points on the "Rotary knowledge" scale. A major challenge of PETS is to bring President Elects to more uniform point of Rotary knowledge while not boring those who have greater Rotary knowledge or experience.  

RLI has a significant "leadership" component that is not a part of the PETS curriculum. There is time for a more thorough look into what leadership is and how to exercise it effectively, how to "team-build", and then how to carry those leadership concepts through to service projects, committee & club meetings, public speaking and the like. There is just not time to develop and apply these concepts in the sessions at PETS dealing with goal setting and club administration.              

PETS courses are generally larger in size (30-50 persons) and require less facilitation and more lecturing to accomplish the session goals than do RLI courses (10-15 persons). RLI courses are more participative, interactive, and in fact, our student lead many of the class segments. While RLI Participants tend to learn from each other, PETS participants necessarily are exposed to a specific set of information that is sought to be imparted in each session. In RLI, we encourage students to explore, discuss and study those area of being a Rotarian that excite them, hoping that as that spark is ignited, that they will take that enthusiasm and knowledge back into their club and apply it as a Rotarian, that is, as a leader among leaders.    

RLI is more "voluntary" than PETS. From personal observation there are always a few people who do not want to attend PETS or think it is a waste of their time. In RLI everybody in attendance has either been honored by being selected to attend, or they had the motivation to sign up themselves to learn more. This spirit is infectious.  

Both PETS & RLI have Facilitators and Discussion Leaders who are at the top of the Rotary Training field. There is much overlap between our RLI Faculty and the PETS Faculty chosen from year to year. RLI Faculty Trainers actually assist in training many of the PETS faculties. Both organizations are very fortunate to have very talented and very dedicated Senior Rotary Leaders involved in both administration and faculty. 

Lastly, there has been a conscious effort made by RLI not to duplicate the PETS curriculum. There continues to be an effort to keep the RLI curriculum different, and responding to needs not met by the other components of the Rotary International Recommended Training cycle, like PETS, AGTS, DTTS, District Assembly, DRFS, and regional events, like Regional Rotary Foundation Seminars and Regional Membership Seminars. 

It is our philosophy at Zone 33 RLI that every positive learning experience you can give to someone who wants to serve others is a plus for their club, our organization and our world!          

Bevin