* How much hands-on practice will you receive?
Last week, we began discussing the six questions that IT training expert Roland Van Liew, co-founder and president of training firm Hands On Technology Transfer, has devised for students to ask of their potential training providers. Last week, we talked about questions concerning the quality of instructors and courseware. Today, we discuss the final three questions, including the single most important question to ask.
4. What sizes are the classes?
Van Liew recommends that students should look for class sizes to be no more than 14 students per instructor. “If the class is large there is less opportunity for the instructor to get to know each student and less opportunity for the student to discuss the competencies that is directly relevant to their work,” he says. Much of the real learning takes place in the lab setting and that is where plenty of student/instructor interaction is crucial, Van Liew says.
For distance, blended and e-learning classes, the question is how will the training provider handle lab exercises and hands-on training, he says.
5. How much hands-on practice will students receive?
Van Liew says this is the single most important question because there is no way an instructor would know whether the student has reached competency until they have performed the task. He recommends that between 50% and 60% of the course should be lab-based.
“If the time for hands-on practice is not substantial, students are unable to develop competency or be confident in the task. [The course] would also be less engaging for the student,” Van Liew says.
He also warns that some tasks may not be covered by some product oriented training, especially if the task the student wishes to learn is not a feature of the product. “If the task goes beyond the scope of the product, the product oriented curriculum will probably not develop full competency for that task,” he says.
6. How can I control cost while maintaining convenience?
Van Liew advises students to find out if e-learning providers offer structured programs and specific training times so that the convenience of self-directed study doesn’t allow a student to drag out or postpone training.
For live, instructor-led training, make sure that such classes are available locally before signing on with a live training company so that unexpected or unbudgeted traveling expenses are not incurred, says Van Liew.
If there are six or more people in your company wanting the same training, it could be more cost-effective to contract an instructor to come to your offices, he says.
Are there any killer questions you ask of your training provider that enables you to locate quality trainers and what kinds of responses do you wait for? Please share them and we’ll continue this thread in a future newsletter. Please write to me at mailto:lleung@nww.com
