7 Questions to ask a Potential PRINCE2 Training Partner

How do you find your perfect PRINCE2 training partner? Ask training organisations these 7 questions and you could find the training that fits your expectations and needs.

1. Are you accredited with the APMG? Would you sign up for an online degree course with a college you knew nothing about? Nor would I! By going to an APMG accredited training organisation (ATO) you’ll go to a recognized organisation, on a recognized course and get a recognized qualification. The accreditation process assesses the competence and reliability of training organisations and the knowledge and skills of the trainer.

2. What's your track record? When you’re investing good money in training some timely research can help ensure it’s money well spent. Find out how long an ATO has been in business. Ask for pass rates, evidence of success, testimonials and for a client portfolio; that way you’ll be sure that it has the depth and breadth of experience to understand your business.

3. What kind of expertise do your trainers have? Just as you’d do background checks on potential employees, so you should verify the quality of an ATO’s trainers. Check who trained them, check they haven’t just passed a training course themselves (yes, it happens!), check they’ve got real-world experience and make sure support tutors for classroom, blended and e-learning can answer tricky PRINCE2 questions (inexperienced trainers hate them!).

4. What kind of learning experience can you offer? Let’s face it, training can be like going through a sausage machine. So pick ATOs offering learner-centred courses designed to help you retain training and deliver change in the workplace. Look for quality materials, newsletters, downloads, video tutors, full tutor support, exam simulations so you can assess progress, mobile games, forums, blogs, social networking through sites like Twitter and Facebook as well as the chance to try the course before you buy it. People live and work in a rich, multi-media technological world and ATOs should be able to reflect that in your learning experience.

5. How flexible is your learning delivery? Geography, time and budget can limit an individual’s or a company’s ability to go or send people on classroom courses so it’s worth hunting around for the ATO that gets this and provides a choice of delivery methods to suit you. Classroom learning should be supplemented by blended, mobile, live virtual classroom, e-learning and social learning to optimise costs, time, and of course, learning. If you’re new to e-learning, there are some simple steps you can take to make sure that your training project goes to plan.

6. How much is it going to cost and what do I get for my money? It’s the old story: you’re on a great course and then they hit you for things you thought were included in the price. A good ATO will include lunch for classroom courses and take-away reference goodies like wall charts, manuals and a CD ROM training course for all learners. A committed ATO will go that extra mile. ILX Connect service holds your hand through e-learning so that you capitalise on the experience and maximise your Return on Investment. They’ll take care of everything from designing your programme, and tracking and reporting learner progress, to organising exams.

6. What development opportunities can you offer? People and organisations want opportunities to grow. They want to develop their skills, careers or the business. A good look at a training company will tell you if it’s a one-trick pony or if it will stay the course and grow with you. Ask yourself if its programmes complement each other and if it develops new courses and services and ways to deliver and support them.

Useful PRINCE2 E-learning Links:

• The APMG provides a wealth of information about PRINCE2 and accredited training organisations.
• For information about PRINCE2 courses, you couldn’t do better than go to the Office of Government Commerce website.
• ILX recently launched PRINCE2 Practitioner Plus, a special stand-alone e-learning package that accelerates project management skills to enable you to deliver change efficiently in any organisation.
• ILX Connect can give your company that extra reassurance that you might need to get the most from an e-learning training programme.
• Looking for deals on training? Keep an eye on our special offers.
• If you’re new to modern learning technologies then ILX Chief Operating Officer,
• Eddie Kilkelly can give you an overview of the radical changes in the provision of learning in the last decade.