Customers have told us many horror stories that they have experienced in their dealings with providers. We pride ourselves in not taking on work unless we are sure we can deliver but sadly, with many other providers, this is not always the case. Prices in the area can be high and simply going for an expensive tender is no more a guarantee than going for the cheapest.

In the past few years, there has been much hype about E-learning & computer based training. Some will promise it can do everything and anything - it can't. Others will offer impressive looking graphics - but when you look under the hood, there's no substance. Still others provide what amounts to no more than a Powerpoint™ slideshow.

Beware the company that promises to deliver 'the rule of thirds' - they'll claim to increase learning by one third, to save one third of your training budget and to reduce time spent on training by one third. These figures relate to separate pieces of research where such results were obtained (US defense agency) - but they weren't all obtained at the same time & unless you have a lot of people going through a bespoke programme, it is unlikely that you'll save money on your training budget. It's actually more likely that any savings will accrue operationally.

An important question to ask any provider is what training experience their people have. Many website designers have moved into the field - and whilst they may have impressive credentials in graphic design - learning design is a very different matter.

It's also worth asking about the supplier's experience in industry. Several higher education institutions in the UK offer E-learning material design. With the pressure on academics to deliver to larger groups, network based instruction became almost a necessity. This led to the adoption of internet based techniques for remote delivery but the material is often little more than lecture notes & slides to compliment classroom instruction. Very few business or industrial training requirements can be met using this approach and, in any case, theory is only useful if it translates into real-world practice.

As many people on the shopfloor who have experienced technology based learning will tell you, it can be boring, patronising & ineffective. What is needed is an understanding of the learner's situation, current knowledge & a passion that is hard to put into training materials unless you've actually been there.

Effectively designed learning materials start by considering the learner & take them from the known to the unknown, move them from the simple to the complex and do so in an engaging manner.

A crucial thing to consider before contacting any supplier is why you want the training. It is essential to identify the business need first and only then get the training in.

Many businesses in the early days of E-learning failed to understand this & have had their fingers burnt. Either because it was the latest thing, because everyone else was doing it or because they thought they could save money on the training budget, they bought whole catalogues of material, put them on their intranets and then hoped people would look at them. The problem was that a lot of this early material was American in origin & British people wanted to hear British voices. The situations described were often not transferable to the UK & so take up was low, drop-out rates high & costs were through the roof.

At train4business, we are happy to spend time discussing your requirements
with no obligation and - if necessary - to advise you to take a different route. Our business is based on satisfied customers & we'd much rather you recommend us to someone who really needs our services than sell you something you don't need. We are here for the long-term.

T4B- Who are we?

• People with experience of actually working in industry - not just telling others how to do it!
• People with a pragmatic approach to learning - Results matter!
• People with broad development & software solution knowledge - We use methodology that works best - One size does not fit all!
• People with around 20 years experience of teaching adult learners from the shopfloor to post graduates
• People dedicated to leveraging CBT, Multimedia and Video Production technology at the service of the learner - Training needs to add value