Broadcast News

Bookmark and Share
11/07/2014

So, You Need Training?

News Image
Whether you need, or think you might need training, there are plenty of decisions and choices to ponder. So let's try and take some of the guesswork out of your decision, writes Alan Bradbury, Senior Adobe Certified Instructor, Soho Editors.

First up, why do you need training? There can be a lot of reasons for this; you might have been asked to go on a course by your boss, or handed a training manual by your supervisor and been asked to learn something. You might have asked your boss if you could go on a course, or asked if you could read that manual. Maybe your job role has changed or expanded? Perhaps you might lack confidence or feel out of your depth? You may be hoping to expand your skill set and improve your career chances. You could simply wish to learn the new version of some software you are already using. Lots of reasons there, so be sure you know your reason, as it will affect how you learn, as we shall see.
When you are sure you know the reason for your training, then you can look at the best way to approach it. Do you really need to spend money on a course? Could you simply 'Google' what you needed to learn? Is there a book or video you could buy on the subject? Alternatively, a friend or colleague might offer to teach you, or you could even just try to 'wing it' and learn as you go. Beyond the cost, there is also the time and the convenience to consider. So be sure to think carefully about how quickly you need to learn, the budget you have available to make that happen, where you want to learn and how long you wish to spend learning.
To help with all of this, let's examine some of those decisions you might make.
If it's a simple single task you have to do, then of course you might be able to simply 'Google it' and find out what you need to know, but needless to say, this is not going to be ideal for more complex training requirements.
A colleague training you on something is a cheap option, but it isn't a free option; nor is it always the best one either. Quite apart from the fact that theirs and your time is money, you should bear in mind that people with the knowledge you require and the skills necessary to be able to impart that information succinctly do not grow on trees and you would be fortunate indeed to have a colleague who can tick all of these boxes. If you do, then great, but be sure that you really do. The same goes for books and videos to some extent.
Some books and training videos are great, but it can be a time consuming process to study them and it would be miraculous indeed if you could ask a book or a video a question and have it answer that question for you, to clarify something you were not sure about. Although to be fair, there are occasionally some distance and e-learning courses that do offer email or web support. Winging it is of course another option, and many do, but those who do, will know that apart from often being an exercise in frustration, not to mention often a lengthy process, one can never really be sure either if one is doing things correctly, or if there is even a better way one might do something.
So this leaves us with courses you actually attend, of varying lengths and levels.
Courses will do what their agenda says they will do and you can ask questions of the person presenting the course. But one rather less obvious difference with such courses is that the pressure is no longer on you to learn, but on the trainer to teach you, since in most cases the trainer is evaluated on his results. This difference is not to be underestimated, since it can often be an anxious time when you have to learn something, thus anything which serves to remove that anxiety can only serve to make things easier.
It's also worth noting that attending such a course allows one to garner the enthusiasm a trainer will impart, which is usually a lot more fun than staring at page one of a great big thick text book or manual!
So, what if you do decide to go on a training course? They can be quite pricey and there are a lot of them around, so how do you decide which one to go for? What makes one better than another?
Well, you should examine such a course closely and above all, you should ask questions...

• Is the course accredited?
• Is the training centre accredited?
• Is the trainer accredited and experienced?
• Do you get support, and if you do, how extensive is it?
• Do you get training materials?
• How many hours is the course? There's a big difference in the amount of hours of training you'll get on a three day course which starts at 11:00 as opposed to one which starts earlier. The same applies to finishing times.
• How many people are on such a course? There's a big difference in how much personal attention you'll receive on a course with five people as opposed to one with thirty people.
• How convenient is it to get to?
• Do they provide refreshments?
• Can they provide recommendations or testimonials?

Any training centre worth attending will be happy to answer questions such as these, and if they are not, then ask yourself another question - why not? The answers you get can really help with the decision; it should be apparent, for example, that if a course starts early in the morning and finishes late in the day, and lasts maybe three or four days, that could mean as much as forty percent more training time over a course which starts later and finishes sooner, a point easily missed when people look at how much value for money they are getting!
Of course, you may find that you can train yourself, or be one of the lucky few who has a knowledgeable colleague with the willingness, time and ability to do a great job training you, but if not, then be sure you choose your course carefully. They aren't all the same.

The article is also available to read in BFV online.

(IT/JP)
Solidmate Ltd Memory Card Hire London

Top Related Stories
Click here for the latest broadcast news stories.

03/11/2023
Scality Named An 8-time Leader In The Gartner Magic Quadrant™
Scality has been named by Gartner® as a Leader in the 2023 Magic Quadrant™ for Distributed File Systems and Object Storage, marking the eighth year in
17/09/2009
Orbital Sound Announces Theatre Sound 2-Day Training Course In October
Orbital Sound, the leading sound and communication systems specialist for the theatre, event and broadcast markets, has unveiled its latest training p
08/01/2024
£300,000 Investment Secured For Production Skills Training Programme
Bristol City Council's Film Services has secured funding of almost £300,000 for a new skills training programme to support creatives looking to break
27/02/2023
TSG Installs New Transmitters In The Rohde & Schwarz Training Centre
Technical Services Group (TSG) has installed new transmitters in the Rohde & Schwarz Training Centre at its corporate headquarters in Columbia, Md. Wh
06/08/2013
Britannia Row Welcomes International Applicants
Britannia Row Productions Training has been granted the status of Approved Candidate for Accreditation by the British Accreditation Council for Indepe
16/06/2017
Emergency Fire To Host PfCO Training Course
Emergency Fire has announced that it is to hold a Permission for Commercial Operation (PfCO) training course at its training venue in Co Antrim this J
10/05/2017
AMP Launches New Drone Training Course
Aerial Motion Pictures and the National Film and Television School have announced a partnership to deliver a new drone cinematography course for film
10/01/2017
Home Of Independent Drone Training School Launches New ICARUS Pro Course
Aerial Motion Pictures were the UK's first independent CAA-approved training school. Having trained over 500 candidates per annum, they are the author
19/06/2015
albert Launches New Training Course
Independent production companies that form part of – or make content for – the BAFTA albert consortium members, will be able to take part in a new tra
26/02/2015
Orbital Sound Announces Dates For Annual Training Course
The dates have been announced the dates for Orbital Sound's annual Easter 'Sound Fundamentals for Theatre' training course. The course, from 7-10 Apri
25/10/2012
IABM Training Academy Plans Geographic And Course Expansion
The IABM Training Academy today announced that, given the success of its 2012 course offering, the organization will significantly extend the breadth
15/10/2012
IABM Training Academy To Offer German Broadcast And Media Technology Course
The International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers Training Academy is set to offer once again its "Broadcast and Media Technology — Understa
25/09/2012
Orbital Sound Launches New Training Course To Help Theatre Sound Operators
Orbital Sound has announced a brand new training course, designed to help aspiring theatre sound operators take their show mixing skills to the next l
24/08/2011
Fotomagico In New Video Training Course
A video software company and a world famous photographer have combined forces all in the name of training. Boinx Software and photographer Mikkel Aala
06/06/2011
IABM Launches New Training Academy
The IABM (International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers) has announced the launch of the IABM Training Academy, an educational organisation