Well-trained staff make a huge difference to any business. This is not only because training courses are a convenient way to obtain skills that a business may not have and doesn’t want to buy in from consultants or contractors, but because they are a great way to motivate and retain staff.
What courses are available
There are courses available on every aspect of running a business and for every level of employee. They cover how to start a business, how to do accounts and how to market and sell your products. There are also many available on how to use and get the most out of computer programs, from basic Word skills to building your own website.
And there’s a huge variety of course providers, from governments through to institutions and associations and the private sector.
First steps
A training course should fill the skills gap of your employees and be linked to the strategic development plan of the company. You should therefore ask yourself two questions:
Does the training give the employee the skills they require to perform in their current role?
Will the training develop the employee’s skills to meet the future needs of the organisation?
Deciding on the right course
With all the courses available, how do you choose which ones to send yourself or your employees on?
Helen Lennie, the general manager of design and handprinted wallpaper company Signature Prints, chooses courses that ‘are relevant to issues that we face at the time’.
These range from doing fairly basic one-day courses through to intensive three-day workshops. In the more intensive workshops, she says ‘I would hope that the person can apply new-found skills and strategies to personal and business development’.
How to find a training course provider
When it comes to choosing a training course provider, ask yourself simple questions such as:
• Do we need skills that nationally recognised? If so you will need to start with providers that have Registered Training Organisation status (most will);
• Do the trainers the provider use come from backgrounds similar to our business, or our workplace culture?
• Has the provider offered advice about programs that are to the business’s advantage and not just that of the provider?
• Can they offer onsite training (if that is what you want/need)?
• Does the provider really understand what my business is trying to achieve and can it tailor a plan to our needs, or is it a ‘sheep dip approach’ (every one gets the same) the best they can offer.
If you take the time to assess what it is you really need from the training, it will become clear as to who can deliver a product that suits your needs.