Choosing a good training company These are tough times in the training business. Two years ago, you had to be very careful to select a training company that actually knew their subject - stories were rife of companies sending trainers who just read the notes and couldn't answer questions, for example. Now there's a new breed around - the training company that's hit hard times; you may have had a good course from them in the past, but the gloss has gone off their offering these days. But how do you identify such a company. Well - we've seen or heard of all of these in the last six months .... A move from their own offices to training in shared facilities (at least this might have better facilities than a hotel venue) Courses that once ran regularly now marked "call for dates" Where credit was previously offered, you're now required to pay with your order. Administration and booking from what appears to be an accommodation address in a different party of the country Companys that regularly cancel courses if they don't have enough bookings - sometimes at the last minute. We've even heard of students turning up for a course that they had not been told was cancelled! Companys that accept too many students for their trainers to handle Companys that combine too many student skill levels into a single course Web sites that tell you all about the courses that you've missed in the last six months; if they can't update their web site, how can they be updating their material? Let's be more positive. What should you look for in a good training company and course? A company with their own training centre, equipment, broadband internet connection, etc. A company with full time staff who write and also present the courses. A company who you can pay at the start of the course, or perhaps even offers credit terms where appropriate. A course that is suited to your needs A course that has been updated recently (is the web site up to date? this is usually a clue!) A clearly stated policy on cancellation if there are too few bookings (preferably "we will never cancel you"), and a clearly stated maximum number of students (5 or 6 is ideal from the students and trainer's perspective. 8 is manageable. More on a public course is TOO MANY) The good companies tend to be the busy ones, and the ones who'll happily put you in touch with a recent customer if you ask. Price is not necessarily a good guide, though perhaps a company that's offering all sorts of discounts to someone it's never even heard of before is perhaps just too anxious for your business!     Title: Choosing a good training company Contact: enquiries@open-source-training.co.uk Phone: +44 (0) 1225 708225 Date: Sun Jul 21 2002 This page: http://www.open-source-training.co.uk/news.html Copyright © 2002, Well House Consultants Ltd