The benefits of external training providers are numerous, they handle the certification of their trainers, they organise the course materials and they liaise with participants throughout the process. But how do you know that you’ve chosen a good provider?
We’ve put together our top 5 tips below to help you pick a good external training provider for your organisation.

1. Check their track record
An external training provider’s track record is a good indicator of their compatibility with your business. Have they worked with an organisation like yours in the past? Contact that company and find out how the training went. You should also consider checking the credentials of their trainers; look for relevant experience and customer references. Any provider worth your time will understand why this information is important and will happily share it.

2. Check if they offer customised or off the shelf training
Off the shelf training has a bad reputation but if you need it to meet mandatory legal obligations then it makes sense that the training would not need to be customised. However, a provider that only offers off the shelf training packages might not be the best fit for your organisation. The best providers understand the need to offer both and are willing to customise training based on your requirements.

3. Check their financial history
This can be a sensitive issue but it is important to protect your company. By checking the financial history of an external training provider, you can ensure they won’t take your money and disappear. Before paying any money to a provider, you should ask about their financial situation and what will happen if their company is unable to provide the training.

4. Ask about support
Most training courses don’t end as soon as the instructor stops talking. You want there to be a period following the training where your staff receive regular support to ensure they have truly achieved the learning objectives. A good external training provider will have clearly defined support terms and offer add-on packages to ensure that your staff are comfortable after the training.

5. Check their training methods
People tend to learn very differently and a good external training provider will know and accommodate this. Ask a potential provider what their training methods are and see if they are using methods that are innovative and based on sound research. A good provider will be able to clearly explain their training methods and how they help achieve the desired learning objectives.

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