Short courses can play an integral role in ensuring that employees meet their full potential in a business setting.

Formal qualifications are of course a prerequisite in this day and age. What these qualifications may sometimes lack are the ‘softer’ skills required by professionals to either operate the various systems they are surrounded by in the workplace, or the interpersonal skills required to effectively work with people in most corporate environments.

The biggest challenge companies and individuals may face is availing themselves or their employees to address this required up-skilling. This is where companies specialising in short courses come in. Short course, impact training is the one way to get people in front of experts that are able to transfer the most important skills and best practices in the shortest possible time.

Costs and consequences

So what are the costs related to this training? There is the simple calculation and then there is the realistic calculation. Simply, the expense divided by the total number of employees only indicates the average physical spend per head, but does not consider the reduction in implicit costs related to more productive employees. Reduced errors and shorter time to task completion are just some of the ways in which operational bottom line gain may be achieved.

A big deterrent for companies and especially SME’s to spend on training is the fear of losing these employees after such expenditure. Do not fall into the trap of denying your company the right to an effective and happy workforce because of this. Cost recovery agreements can be put in place and signed as separate agreements to the employee contract. These may stipulate that should an employee leave within a certain amount of time after course completion they would be liable for the cost of the training.

The appeal of personal development

From the private individual’s perspective, whether you are a school leaver taking a gap year or an established professional looking for further personal development, little appeals more to a prospective employer than someone who takes accountability for their own development. These short course certificates not only mean that companies interviewing you can take you on with little requirement for additional training, it also shows that you are as serious about yourself as they are about their business.

For more information on the short-courses on offer at Learnfast, visit www.learnfast.co.za or contact 011-262-2054.

Article first appeared in TechSmart 125.