Choosing a Business Certification Training Provider
Whatever industry you’re in, it can be a challenge to find a good business certification training provider. There are many choices out there, but how do you pick the best? What issues should you consider?
Here are tips to help you find the answers:
Seek referrals but be careful whom you ask.
People can brag about having received the best training een with zero frame reference. If they’ve never taken a similar course before, what makes them think it’s the best? If they’ve been taking many courses with the same training provider, how can we be sure it’s an objective and reliable opinion? Ask referrals from those who’ve taken the same or similar courses with various providers.
Check their website.
Even a one-man team can make himself look like a multinational company with a really glossy website. It’s totally different when you have someone with a bad website. No one, not even the lowliest trader, will want a bad website. A bad website is one with substandard quality images, a general email address (Yahoo, Gmail, etc.) and a mobile phone number as “corporate information,” broken links and spelling and grammar errors. Training providers are in the business of education and have no excuse to have questionable literacy skills.
Ask about accreditation.
All training courses can have three types of accreditation – external accreditation, trade body approval and in-house certification from an independent training provider. External accreditation may seem to be the “highest” of all three types, but remember that accreditation type by itself does not indicate credibility. You also have to look at the quality assurance systems put in place by the training provider. External accreditation is not a guarantee.
Examine the price.
Price does matter in terms of business training certification courses. If you’re drawn to a dramatically cheaper provider, always remember that they will be cutting costs in order to make profit. But good thing it doesn’t work conversely. A provider’s brand name or reputation does not justify spending more than you have to.
Research the trainers.
A very intelligent person isn’t automatically a very good teacher. Besides technical expertise, you also need to look into a trainer’s teaching experience.
Talk to the provider.
Your list should contain your last two or three potential business certification training providers by this time. After researching them, what’s the next step? Give them a call. You’ll feel them better when you actually speak to them instead of just learning about them from their website. Finally, trust your intuition. If you sense some hesitation or if there’s even the slightest sign of bluffing, forget it and proceed to your next prospect.
