Ready-made training courses are usually competent. When they fail, it is rarely because the content is wrong. It is because of the gap between the course and the people taking it. There are three common gaps.
The examples
Generic courses use generic examples. Participants spend their time translating those examples into their own situation, and many stop believing the course applies to them. A custom course uses the participants’ own documents, customers and data.
The outcomes
Generic courses aim at understanding a topic. Employers need staff who can do something specific afterwards: quote a price, read a report, give feedback. A custom course is designed from those specific outcomes, and success can be checked against them.
The length
A catalogue course is as long as the catalogue says. A custom course is as long as the available time and the content require, which is often shorter.
What we do differently
- We speak to the client and to the participants before designing anything.
- We agree the outcomes in writing before writing the course.
- We build examples from the client’s own work.
- We choose the format and length to suit the subject and the group.
- We review the course after delivery and adjust it.