Training Landscape – Choosing the right training or education provider

Choosing the right training or education provider

It is never an easy decision when a company is searching for the right training or training/education provider. Here, online trainings are particularly hard to select due to the rapid growth of offered choices in the last few years as well as due to associated challenges in the context of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, it is absolutely important to choose the right provider, therefore, this article gives an overview as well as a checklist which can help decide whether a training or education provider is right for what will be needed.

1. Provider obligations

The training and education providers must market and advertise their services ethically and accurately. Before an agreement with a provider will be made, they must provide information about (Australian Government, 2014):

• The training, assessment and support services they provide, and
• your rights and obligations.

It is also important to understand the details of the program, therefore the following points have to be considered (Australian Government, 2014):

• when, where and how the program will be delivered
• how it is possible to provide feedback or make a complain about the program, and
• what happens if your employment ceases – will you still be able to participate in the program?

2. Confirm the training or education provider is registered

A nationally recognized training organization will have a registration number, this signifies that the provider is accredited and audited. Make sure that the training or education provider organization is registered and ask for their registration number (Australian Government, 2014).

3. If it is necessary to get a nationally recognized qualification, confirm that the training program will lead to a qualification

In this case make sure that the course leads to the European Qualification Framework, the EQF is a common European reference framework whose purpose is to make qualifications more readable across different countries and systems. The EQF currently provides a comprehensive overview over qualifications in the 39 European Countries (Cedefop, 2020).

4. If the training is mandatory to apply for an occupational license, confirm that this is the right course to do so

Ask the licensing authority or regulatory body and make sure that this course is the right one (Australian Government, 2014).

5. Ask about provider´s membership of industry bodies or associations

Ask the training or education provider if he/she is a member of an industry body or association and if yes, which one.

Industry bodies and associations may list members on their websites and have additional information about the providers that may be useful (Australian Government, 2014).

One example on European level is The European Association of Institutes for Vocational Training (EVBB), which is an umbrella association of free and non-profit educational providers. The objective of the EVBB lies in the qualitative improvement of vocational education and training in European countries and an increase in the efforts being carried out in education. The EVBB has more than 65 members coming both from the private and the public sector and covers all fields related to initial advances and further education and training (EVBB, 2018).

6. Confirm the knowledge and skills people can expect to gain from the course, and the job outcomes

Ask the training or education provider the following questions (Australian Government, 2014):

• Which units of competency or modules will people attain from the training?
• What jobs the training may lead to?
• What are the job prospects on completion of the training?
• Are there requirements in addition to the training?

7. Take time to look around for a course and training or education provider that meets the required needs

Ask the selected training or education provider the following questions (Australian Government, 2014):

• What is the total cost of the training, including any additional fees on top of the course fees?
• What is the refund policy?

Obtain a copy of the policy and get clarity about all details.

• What resources are provided as part of the course fee?
• What resources, if any, do attendees have to provide by themselves?
• What is the duration of the course?
• What are the minimum expected hours of attendance per week?
• How many hours are people expected to spend on learning and assessment activities outside of the formal attendance time?
• How and when people will be assessed?
• Will training and/or assessment be undertaken online or in a real workplace?

If a simulated/online environment is to be used to replicate a workplace, consider how realistic the environment is.

• If work placement is to be included as part of the course, will the training provider supply a workplace or will you be expected to find one yourself?
• What support services are provided? For example, support for people with language difficulties

It would be also useful to ask for feedback from past learners on the quality of training or education and have a look on their references (Australian Government, 2014).

8. Ask about online services

If the training or education provider offers some or all of the program online, get information about the following questions (Australian Government, 2014):

• What are the technological requirements?
• What hardware and software will be needed?
• What download speeds are required?
• What level of computer literacy is required?
• Is there helpdesk support for technical issues?
• Is there trainer support for the course? When is this available?
• How will the assessment be conducted?
• How do you ensure that the person participating in online activities is the person enrolled in the course?
• Are there any additional fees?

9. Class Size – Does the program have an upper limit on the number of participants in a class?

You should be able to find out how many participants will be in the class. Even for an experienced online instructor in a virtual classroom, it is difficult to provide personalized attention on a discussion board with more than 25 attendees (wikiHow, 2019).

10. Be cautious about paying large sums of money up-front

Ensure the training or education provider is the right one and that it is registered before making an up-front payment, or commit to paying money (Australian Government, 2014).

Author

Jennifer Antosik

INTERSPREAD GmbH, Austria