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In-house Computer Training Should Be Customised
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One of the chief benefits of booking in-house (on-site) training, as opposed to sending your people off to a training centre to attend a pubic course, is that the training can be customised to suit the specific needs of your organisation. When booking in-house training courses, be sure to make this clear to the training company and brief them fully on your requirements. Produce a list of key topics that need to be covered after discussing the matter with the people who will be attending the course, their manager or someone in your organisation who already has the skills the trainees are looking to acquire.
Send a few examples of your work to the training company in advance of the training so that they have a good idea of the kind of documents your people will need to produce or edit (Be sure to remove any sensitive or confidential information first!).
A good software training session will offer users opportunities to practice the skills they are being taught. Ask the training company to incorporate your documents into the practical exercises given to delegates on the course. For example, if your people are being shown how to create corporate brochures, have the trainer ask them to create pages from some of your typical brochures during the training to check that they are mastering the relevant techniques.
It is important to find a suitable room where you can realistically conduct a training session and where the trainees can focus on learning without distraction, discomfort or interruption. If your company does not have a proper training room then a meeting room can be used. Delegates should be able to see the trainer from their seat without having to crane their necks or twist uncomfortably. Each trainee should also have exclusive use of a laptop or workstation for the duration of the course and enough space to operate a keyboard and mouse.
The correct version of the software should be loaded on each person's machine and, ideally, all delegates should be using the same version of the software. For example, running a course on Microsoft Word where some delegates have Word 2007 and others 2003 would be a nightmare, since the two versions have such key differences.)
A workstation or laptop connected to a screen projector for use by the trainer is not essential but is extremely useful, especially with a large group (say, more than half a dozen people). If your company does not own one, they can be hired for around 25 per day. A whiteboard and pens are also very handy.
For your training to be effective, all staff must be available for the entire duration of the course and must not be interrupted by other members of staff. Ideally, they should be treated as absent from the office until their training ends. Equally importantly, they should be motivated to do the training and be shown how it will benefit them and enable them to work more effectively.
About the Author
The writer of this article is a developer and trainer with Macresource Computer Solutions, a UK IT training company offering on-site (in-house) Classes in London and throughout the UK.
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