Investing in training isn't just good news for your employees - staff training gives real, measurable improvements to your business as well. Here are our top reasons to invest in employee training for your business:

1. Tailor the topics to suit your company

Most workplace training courses are very flexible, so you can tailor the course content to focus on the areas of your business that need the most attention. This means your staff are studying relevant topics, making the training as efficient as possible and maximising the impact on your business.

2. Get training in practical subjects from the experts

Many professional qualifications are accredited by leading professional bodies - these organisations invest huge amounts of time and money into researching and developing better ways of working. Because of this, you know that training your staff with these qualifications means they're learning cutting edge skills and techniques with real practical applications for your business.

3. Accessible to everybody

Unlike college and university courses which may have strict requirements for entry qualifications, professional workplace training is based on experience. This means that no matter what their qualifications or educational background, they'll be able to start at a level that suits them. This means you spend less money on 'catch-up' qualifications before your staff can start studying at a level that matches their experience.

4. Job-Focused

Lots of professional qualifications assess students by having them apply their knowledge in their current job by doing projects. This means that they'll be improving your business as they study!

5. Benchmark your staff performance

It’s important to be able to measure your staff’s abilities against a measurable standard – this way you keep tracks of how well they’re performing, and how they’re developing over time. A framework of professional qualifications is the perfect way to check how well your staff are progressing, and make sure they’re developing in line with their targets.

6. Boost the ROI on your recruitment

When your recruit, there are costs involved, so it’s important to get the most out of your staff. By improving their skills with business training, you’ll not only increase their performance but their morale and motivation too, reducing staff turnover and increasing retention. Investing in your staff will improve your reputation as an employer, too, so you’ll find it easier to attract high quality candidates when you’re recruiting.

7. Improve your business’s performance

Professional training for businesses is all focused on making real improvements to business performance. Your staff will learn new skills and techniques for making your business more efficient and profitable.

8. A mark of excellence for your business

Showing that you care about professional standards, improving your business and developing your staff gives your company credibility in professional circles and improves its reputation.

9. Get the edge on the competition

By training your employees to work at their best, you can make sure you’re working faster, better and smarter than your competitors. Well trained staff get more out of every working hour to give your business the edge over your competitors.

10. Get new recruits up to speed

Putting new recruits on a training course can help them find their feet.

11. Push talented employees further

If you have a junior member of staff who’s showing potential, it can be cheaper to train them up for a more senior role than to recruit a new manager.

12. Update your employee’s skills

Even experienced staff members can benefit from a refresher to go back over familiar material and learn some new tricks.

13. Funding options available

Business training might not cost you as much as you think – if you take NVQ funding for your staff you could get up to 100% of the cost covered for you!

14. Fit the training around your company

Training doesn’t have to mean huge disruption to your company – most courses can be tailored to fit the amount of time you can afford for your staff to spend on their studies, and can be completed with a minimum of fuss.

15. Make more money

All of the above points contribute to one major benefit: more profit for your business. By increasing its efficiency, improving your staff’s performance, increasing morale and motivation and keeping up to date with the latest industry knowledge, you can be sure that business training will help your business achieve its goals.

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Choosing a Distance Learning Course: Ten Questions to Ask Before You Sign Up

There are a bewildering number of distance learning colleges and courses out there, and choosing between them can be a confusing process. Here are our top ten questions to ask before you commit to a course:

1. Who is the course accredited by?

A good quality distance learning course will lead to a qualification which is accredited by a well-known educational establishment or professional body. The accreditation of the qualification you receive is what will give it weight on your CV, so it’s important to know what you’ll be getting.

2. When can I start the course?

Some distance learning courses have several set start dates throughout the year, while others will allow you to begin your course at any time. If you’re in a hurry to get started, it’s important to check if there are any enrolment deadlines you need to meet, or how long you’ll have to wait to begin your studies.

3. How is the course structured?

Will you be set regular assignments, or will you be left to work through the course materials at your own pace? Make sure the course is structured in a way that fits with your own requirements – are you happy to work alone, or would you rather go for something more structured to keep you on track?

4. How will I receive my course materials?

Is the course delivered entirely online, or will you receive hard copies of your textbooks? Perhaps you’ll receive your course on CD-ROM, or a mix of different methods? Check before you sign up to make sure that the course materials will be in a format that you're comfortable with.

5. How much contact do I get with my tutor?

Some distance learning courses limit the amount of contact time you’ll receive with your tutor. If you’re happy to work through the course with minimal support, this could be a cheaper option, but if you’re unsure or haven’t studied for a long time, it may be better to choose a course which offers unlimited support. Also, check what methods of contact you’ll have – telephone, email, Skype, forums and so on.

6. What experience will my tutor have?

Your tutor may be an experienced teacher, but do they have industry experience to back up their knowledge? Are they a specialist in their field? 

7. How and when will I receive feedback?

When you submit an assignment, how long will you have to wait to receive feedback, and what form will this take? Will the feedback you receive be personalised to your work or will it be generic?

8. Do I have to join any professional bodies to study?

Some professional qualifications require you to be a member of the professional body which accredits the course before you can study. If this is the case for your course, be clear on whether membership fees are included in the cost, or whether this is something you’ll need to arrange separately.

9. Are there any exams?

If your course requires you to sit exams, you’ll need to know when these will be and how they’ll work. You’ll also need to know whether you’ll have to attend a specific exam centre or whether you can arrange to sit your exam in your own workplace. Finally, check the exam fees, whether they're included in the cost of the course and whether you’ll receive any help in booking your exams or if this is up to you.

10. What are my funding options?

If your employer is funding your course, can the college invoice them directly? If you’re self funding, are there any options to spread the cost of the course, or does the entire course fee need to be paid up front?

Boost Your Purchasing or Logistics Career With a Qualification: Why Experience Isn’t Enough Any More

You’ve been working in your current role for a long time – you’ve worked hard, risen through the ranks and you know your industry inside out. So why aren’t you moving any further?

Times have changed, and so have the things employers are looking for. Where previously experience alone might have been enough to get you a job or promotion in logistics, purchasing or supply chain management, these days employers are focusing more and more on professional qualifications such as CIPS (Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply) or CILT (Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport).

If you don’t believe us – check the job listings. Browse through sites like Monster or TotalJobs and you’ll find more and more vacancies requesting that applicants be CIPS or CILT qualified. This is partly due to growing popularity of the courses with employers – if they’ve already invested in training for the rest of their workforce, it would make sense to hire employees who already hold similar qualifications. It’s also down to the recession – jobs are becoming scarcer, so employers are asking for more to differentiate between the hundreds of CV’s they might receive for each vacancy they advertise.

Professional qualifications are a mark of excellence in your chosen area, be it procurement, freight, warehousing or inventory, and are a perfect way to back up your working experience and knowledge with a formal certification. You can choose to study at a number of different levels, so whether you’re at entry level or management level there’ll be something to challenge you. You can also usually tailor the courses to suit you, choosing from a range of different modules to make sure your qualification matches your career ambitions.

Because CIPS and CILT are professional work-based qualifications, you don’t need to have any formal qualifications to take the courses – they’re based around your day-to-day work and experience, so you can start at the level that suits you best without having to worry about your previous education.

Professional qualifications like these are a great way to get an industry-recognised mark of excellence that will really make your CV stand out from the crowd, and really boost your career in supply chain, purchasing or logistics.

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We'll be blogging about distance learning - how it can help you, where to start and what to look for in a distance learning course to help you achieve your personal and career goals.

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