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Here
is my quick little primer to help you make an informed choice for which
EMS course(s) to take and by whom:
1. How many employees
will you need to provide EMS training to? What is your time frame and
how much can you do yourselves on site? What does your training budget
look like in 2002 and beyond?
2. Check your referrals: what did other folks in your network have to
say about a particular course or course provider? Were they satisfied,
or did they feel they did not get their money’s worth? Would they
use the provider or instructor again? Can they share some noteworthy anecdotes
about their training experiences?
3. You’ve done your homework and narrowed down your choices. There
are still points to consider. Do you sign up for one of the course providers
listed on the RAB website, or do you opt for on-site training? If you
choose the latter, who will provide this training? A course provider,
a non-profit, or a boutique training firm?
In any of these situations,
the bottom line is that you need to research who the instructor will be,
and what value you will receive in any of the choices before you. Let’s
evaluate this point further.
4. You sign up for a RAB-listed course provider. Is the training local,
or do you have to include travel, meals and lodging expenses? Who’s
the instructor, and what do they bring to the table? Who else has signed
up? Is there potential networking value in attending? What is the course
venue? Is it being held at a convenient hotel with ample training space,
or is it being offered at the trainer’s office. If so, will you
be comfortable with that arrangement? What backup plan do you have should
the course be cancelled?
5. You sign up for an on-site course. Can you bring on additional participants,
and how much will it cost? Again, you need to evaluate the instructor.
What are their credentials, and what value do they bring?
6. You sign up for a public offering with a non-profit organization. Again,
you need to evaluate the instructor. Many of these organizations list
the instructor’s biography on their website, so this research may
be a little easier.
But, that’s
not to say that you should stop there you’re your research. Who
else has signed up, and like the previous public offering example, is
there potential networking value in attending? Is the offering over a
period of days, or 2 or more hours a week for 8 to 10 weeks.
This option might
be attractive to companies with limited budgets who would like to partake
in advanced ISO training. Many of these non-profits offer ISO 14001 implementation
and internal auditing courses at very reasonable rates.
7. What requirements are you seeking to fulfill? Are you seeking ISO 14001
auditor registration? If so, your only choice to date is to take an approved
RAB-accredited EMS Lead Auditor course.
8. If, however, you are not seeking RAB credentials, you are under no
obligation to take courses from these providers, although you may choose
to do so. In these situations, you can choose to take whatever courses
you feel are most appropriate for you in whatever venue makes most sense
and can be justified by your Purchasing Manager.
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One
Company's Perspective: The Phantom Interviewee
I posed the question of what a company looks for in choosing an ISO course
provider to a Quality Director of a large manufacturing company. This
individual was frank in his offering of anecdoctal information, but did
not want to be identified. In choosing a course provider, and he has his
favorite which we will describe, he looks for several key considerations.
These include:
1. Has a well-established
network through his ISO registrar contacts. He also relies on the opinions
of his colleagues in industry who have taken various ISO courses from
various listed course providers.
2. He likes to attend and send his work colleagues to training sessions
in those geographic areas where key customers and suppliers are located,
a conscious business strategy on his part.
3. In another business consideration, he looks to see where the pressure
point is, and who among his customers are mandating such courses. He then
solicits their input for what is out there in the way of course value.
4. If his supervisor or other management rep is specifying that he or
others will take courses, he will network locally to determine what choices
he has available, and begin the interview process.
5. I asked him whether he used the internet to conduct this research,
and he replied that the internet is a good business tool.
6. He also feels that there is value in taking an internal on-site course,
just as there is in taking a public course, it’s all a matter of
preference at the time.
As we have found in
our discussion with this gentleman and in our own experience from being
on both sides of the training fence over the years, preparation and diligence
are two of the main ingredients to guarantee a successful training experience.
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