Can Low Cost Training Damage Your Career?
Management training is becoming an increasingly competitive market, with the emergence of very low cost providers offering cheap training. But do such low cost courses offer value for money or is it worth paying a premium for quality?
Any search of Google will reveal an array of project management courses at a wide range of prices. For example PRINCE2 courses are available from £599 form a low cost provider to £1,869 from one of the larger providers (plus VAT). Is it worth paying the extra for a quality course, or should you just select the cheapest price? What additional benefit will you get from a more expensive course.
Quality Learning is Very Important
Attending a course is a big commitment of your time. You will want to boost your skills by selecting a course that is practical and engaging, delivered by an experienced trainer; someone who has the ability and the experience to relate the theory to practice and the time to help you work out how to apply the principles to your job. Application is very important because you want the develop the knowledge and skills that are going to improve your effectiveness in your career bot now and in the future. A quality training provider will have smaller class sizes and trainers who are as recognised experts in their knowledge area.
Always Look For the AsTrE Logo
To identify a quality training provider you should look for the ASEPCT logo on a members website. This is because all AsTrE members sigh up to a quality standard below
When selecting your training provider, look for the AsTrE logo. This will ensure that the provider will uphold our high training standards:
1. Maximum delegates will not exceed 16 delegates
By keeping class sizes to a manageable level, each delegate will be assured that they receive the required attention for clarifying learning points. There is nothing worse for the delegate to have a list of questions, but no time to get them answered.
2. Training rooms will be spacious and light
It is important to have a good learning environment. The accredited training courses are very intense, with long days plus an hour or two evening work. AsTrE members only use properly proportioned rooms with light and space to work and concentrate.
3. Official manuals and training materials
All members of AsTrE provide a copy of the official manual for the delegate to keep. AsTrE members are committed to knowledge transfer, and therefore believe it is essential for delegates to have their own copy of the official manual to learn the subject, prepare for the examinations, and to reference and use after the training has finished.
Please also note: The Practitioner Examination allows a candidate to reference just the official manual during the exam. The manual must not have any inserts, sticky notes, etc inside it (other than for index markers), otherwise you may face disqualification from the exam. You are allowed to have hand-written notes in your manual though, hence the reason for having your own copy, rather than a “borrowed” one from the training provider.
4.Subject matter expertise
AsTrE members have been accredited for a minimum of 5 years. Training providers new to the industry place a lot of emphasis on the examination rather than learning the methods. While this may appear to meet your primary objective, if you do not understand how to get the best from the methods, then you may not be able to demonstrate your new skills in the workplace. This is especially important when embedding the methods into your organisation.
5. Professional support and development
All AsTrE members provide pre-course training materials when you confirm your course. This may be online or paper-based, and may include guided reading, sample exam questions, candidate guidance and the syllabus. To get the most from your course, AsTrE members commit to support you during your pre-course study preparation.
6.Support before, during and after your course
AsTrE member have committed to “provide information to industry professionals in the application of portfolio, programme and project management best management practice”. To uphold this commitment, AsTrE members provide resources such as template documents to help you use the methods after your training course.
7. Guaranteed courses and professional integrity
AsTrE member have committed to “create, maintain and uphold a premium set of standards, ethics and professional integrity”. Some courses offered by AsTrE members are guaranteed to run. If an AsTrE member advises you that a course is guaranteed to run, you can rest assured that this is truly the case.
8. All courses advertised by AsTrE members are real
Some non-AsTrE members advertise courses and locations as a marketing tool with no intention of running them.
9. Customer service
AsTrE members are committed to excellent customer service and will always endeavor to support you throughout your learning experience.