How to Choose the Best Training Courses for Your Learning Needs

How to Choose the Best Training Courses for Your Learning Needs

Whether we are leading ambitious businesses or individuals planning our future careers, we all come to a point when we are faced with a gap in our knowledge or skill set. The best way of bridging this gap is through education. Courses and training can help us to move beyond these obstacles and enable us to achieve our goals.

We spoke to a range of individuals from different backgrounds about how they found the perfect course for their educational and development needs.

Here are their 4 top tips.

1. Identify your main priorities

When you are exploring your course options it is important to ask yourself: what are your main goals and what is your ideal learning outcome? 

Ideally, be as specific as possible. Rather than brainstorming ideas like “I want to learn a skill that will get me a promotion” or “I want to do something creative”, try to hone in on what kind of course will be the best fit for you. 

Take into account your current circumstances, primary objectives, and how much time you are able to devote to training. 

Zoe Kirby, business owner of Toddler Review, took these exact steps when she decided to upskill for the good of her company. She explained her thought process that first led her to apply for an accounting qualification:  “I found that I wasn’t quite able to understand what my accountant was telling me about my income and expenditure for my website.”  

Kirby understood that investing in additional training could help her clarify her finances and open doors to new opportunities. She took into consideration both her short term and long term needs when making her final decision. 

Reflecting on her experience so far, she concludes that  “Not only is this course helping me understand my accounts and finances better, it's also opening doors for me if I change direction in later life. The accounting qualification is not just something that I put on my CV, it's an actual recognised certification which could win me interviews, or even jobs.” 

When you begin your search, take a leaf from Kirby’s book and consider where you are now and where you want to be in the near future.

2. Explore your options

After you have identified what course topic you want to invest in, there is the question of what kind of course will work for you. Anyone who has searched online for courses knows that there is a huge array of options available. Courses are becoming increasingly specialised, allowing you to target very specific areas. In addition, there are more e-learning courses than ever before. 

Deciding between an online and  an in-person course will really help you to narrow down your options. When he searched for courses on the web, photography expert Laurence Jones, founder of Kids Naturally Photography, had a clear idea about his course preference. For the specialist work that he performs, Jones found that “you can only learn so much from virtual lessons without a lot of feedback” and therefore opted for courses delivered in person. 

On the other hand, Andrei Kryssov, founder of Modern Guitar Hub preferred to opt for an online course to broaden his understanding of no-code development for his website ModernGuitarHub.com. 

Decide if an online course or an in-person course best suits your needs while browsing the different courses on offer. Carefully read the descriptions and note whether the courses match what you are looking for. 

Doing so will mean that you are sure to find the course that is right for you.

3. Stay within your budget

When it comes to course searches, one topic that came up again and again for the learners we spoke to was that of price. While they were each working within different budget restrictions, every one of them was keen to ensure that they were getting good value for money. 

Liame Lija, Owner of Livewireleads puts it best “First, you must determine what your price range is. After that, you can use this factor as a guide in determining what factors are most important to you and as a way of determining your purchase decision.”

Establishing what you are willing to spend and what is over your budget can also help you to know exactly what you want to get out of a course. Do you really want to know everything there is to know about Java, or would you be more satisfied with a basic introduction to fundamental programming concepts?

Managing director at Intrinsic Search Paul French believes that “from experience, when it comes to training courses, you get what you pay for. We are keen on getting value for money. We carefully balance our strategic goals with our financial benchmarks to ensure any investment in professional development is cost-effective and will provide a favourable return on investment.”

While it is true that a healthy budget can get you a high quality course with all the bells and whistles, those on a tighter budget should not lose hope.

There are a huge amount of free or government funded courses and webinars in a variety of different subject areas, from business studies to hotel and tourism and extensive guides on how to navigate them.

With so many free and affordable courses to choose from, there really is something for everyone.

4. Quality is key

Last but not least, the learners we spoke to were unanimous in their agreement that quality was one of the most important things to them when selecting a course provider. 

Emily Smith, founder of FemaleAbroad.com astutely noted that “so many courses have popped up online the last several months due to people spending time at home because of COVID” and it was therefore extremely important for her to establish that the course provider was not “a fly-by-night company.” 

Resource Manager Heather Welch from Ukulele Tabs similarly stressed the importance of provider research. She believes that future learners should “research not only the course, but also the course provider: this is the most important step.” She stresses that “this does not mean just taking a look at reviews that are shared on the homepage of the course. This will usually only give you exposure to the positive reviews - you need an unbiased view, including those negative ones.”

Likewise, company president at Funeral Funds of America Randy VanderVaate stressed that when you do settle on a course provider, the credentials of said provider is crucial for determining return on investment: “The presenter or course provider must provide rock-solid sales or performance results that can directly contribute to my team's development and profitability.”

VanderVaate makes a cogent point about corporate training. He puts it that “When I invest in training, I want a return on investment for myself and my team. I would gladly pay $500,000 for training if it resulted in $1,000,000 in new revenue.”

Such training can not only increase profitability, it also has added benefits like different tailoring options which let you customise the course to suit a whole team. Many individuals and corporate entities also value the certifications they can get from the training course documenting their learning, and hours that can be added to their CPD portfolio. If you believe that you might benefit from such training it is worth considering exploring corporate training options. 

Whatever your background, qualified trainers with extensive experience in their field are universally desirable. Such trainers can guarantee that they will be able to effectively guide you through a course, teach in an engaging way with the latest pedagogical methods, and offer effective solutions to problems they themselves are greatly familiar with. 

Ensure your trainer meets your expectations by carefully reviewing their credentials and comparing them to other trainers offering similar courses to assess how they match up. Finally, don’t be afraid to reach out to education providers to request more information when needs be. Reliable providers will be happy to answer any questions that you have and talk you through what to expect.

Conclusion

Whether you are moving into higher education, exploring new hobbies, or searching for corporate training solutions, there are courses to meet your every need. Hopefully these learner tips and testimonies have helped you to consider how you will begin YOUR journey.

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