TRAINING METHODS AVAILABLE

TRAINING METHODS AVAILABLE

1. Personal Training - are methods where the usersis trained by another person, either from inside or outside the organisation. This may be as part of a course or as a one to one session with another employee. The personal contact with the trainer is preferred by many people to learing from books or computer based training, but does tend to cost more.

2. External course away from the organisation - colleges and universities deliver courses which lead to a recognised qualification. Organiations sometimes allow for tie off to attend degree courses in subjects that will benefit the organisation. Many training organisations exist who run regular courses on lots of different topics. Typically last for one or two days at a fixed cost per person attending, whihc may be negotiable depending on the number of people being trained over the course of the year. If few people need training this may be the most cost effective way to do it. May not be possible to fnd a course that fits requirements exactly. However, employees can pass on what they have learned, know as 'Cascading'.

3. External trainer delivering course within the organisation - if many need to be trained at once it may be more practical to bring in an external trainer to deliver a course that is tailored to the organisation's needs. this avoids extra costs such as travel and accomodation costs. However, does mean that the comany needs to provide the facilities for the course to be delivered whihc may be difficult if the course is very 'hands on'. Users should be able to support each other when putting into practice what they have learned and it may prove to be a useful team building exercise.

4. Internal trainer - in house training could also be delivered by an employee of the organisation. A member of the ICT department or someone with specifc knowledge and skills that needs to be passed on. Induction training is good example of trainging likely to be given in this way. the cost of the external trainer is removed so the only cost would be facilities. All parties concerned should treat the trainign seriously as trainer may feel unconfortable trainimg peers. Person being trained may feel reluccent to ask questions for fear of being seen as foolish by colleagues, but others may feel more comfortable to ask someone familiar.

5. One-to-one training - could be the best way to show someone how to do something. Could be formally as part of induction training or informally as a person realises they need to do soething they haven't done before. This is preferred by many because it is totally interactive. They are expensive however and the ocst needs to be justified in terms of the benefits for the organisation.

6. Online tutorials - delivered via the internet. These can be a set of step by step trainign exercises that can sometomes simulate the operation of the software. Online training is often provided by the delevopers of generic applications software packages. The cost of trainign may be included in the price or available as an added extra. Advantages - interactive and practical nature can make them more interesting, users can work at their own pace - at a time that is convient to them, can replay the tutorials as often as the users needs to. Can be cost effective because the training can be used many times and is consistent. However, isn't personal and questions cannot be asked.

7. Training manuals - usually paper-based, although may come with a cd that contains the files needed for the exercises. Tend to be based on step-by-step exercises and may have tests built in at intervals. Advantages - easy to select the parts of the syste the users needs to know rather than go through all the tutorials, manual is always readily available for reference. Maauals are generally much less expensive than training course. However unlikely to be an option for bespoke software as they would not be economic to produce.

8. Computer-based training - the computer simulates the software to deliver sequences of operations that the users can follow. It provides feedback and guides them to the next stage or asks them to repeat it. The software can selct different pathways depending on responses, so thetrainign can maximise its effectivness. Ther may also be bulit in tests that can be marked automatically. CBT is cheaper than courses and can be sed repeatedly for many users.