Leadership & Management Training - Grant Funding

The Leadership and Management scheme offers grant funding of up to £1,000 for small and medium scale businesses.  It is branded at “Leaders First” by Train to Gain.

With the new financial year funding appears to be refreshed. £4.9m has been allocated for organisations in the Sout East.  In the East Midlands there is a little more flexibility when it comes to companies with just 3 or 4 employees (previously 5 was a strictly imposed lower limit).

Focus has been able to help many smaller organisations access funding for accredited training courses such as PRINCE2.

>> Find out about the scheme and how to access your £1,000 grant
>> PRINCE2 Training Courses

Blogalot - May 2010

Funding for IT and Project Management Training

More Training Courses Funded by Grants and Loans

As the recession bites, Focus has seen a significant increase in the number of training courses for project management and IT professionals supported by a variety of government initiatives.

We’ve added several pages to our website to help explain what help is (or is not) available.
>> Funding for Individuals
>> Funding for Businesses
>> ELCAS Enhanced Learning Credits for the armed forces

We find a lot of inconsistency across the country and we’re sure that many people are not aware of the possibilities. Let us know if you come across other funding sources which we have not mentioned.

Blogalot July 2009

Funding Crisis at the Learning & Skills Council

Oh dear.

“The Learning and Skills Council exists to make England better skilled and more competitive.” It’s England’s biggest quango with an annual budget of £12 billion. Unfortunately it seems that it can’t do is own sums.

New schemes are announced with a fanfare. Learners and providers react with enthusiasm. Then the plans are scaled back or aborted. First it was the capital building programme for many colleges; now its the adult apprentice scheme.

Fortunately, it seems that the highly targeted funding scheme to help small and medium sized businesses with Leadership and Management training is running smoothly - though qualification criteria are being applied more strictly than when first launched. Focus has been able to help clients with training such as Project Management (PRINCE2), IT Service Management (ITIL), and IT governance. 

>> £1,000 grants for Leadership & Management training
>> Listen to BBC’s File on 4 investigate the LSC funding crisis

Blogalot June 2009

Leadership & Management Training Grants

Have YOU claimed your £1,000 from the Government?

There is a really good scheme operating across England which is designed to help organisations with 5-250 employees improve their management and leadership skills.

It’s flexible, fast and not too bureacratic. In conjunction with your specialist skills advisor YOU choose the training which is right for you. This might well include accredited project management and service management courses such as PRINCE2, MSP, MoR and ITIL. Equally it might be tailored training, coaching or mentoring.

You can get £500 free training with no strings - and £500 on a matched funding basis.

The only disappointment is that there’s only one allocation per organisation.

It was launched as part of the Train to Gain initiative - though this is now being integrated with business support services co-ordinated under the Business Link umbrella.

>> FIND OUT HOW TO APPLY FOR YOUR £1,000

Blogalot May 2009

E-Learning: Love it or Loathe it

Focus has just relaunched its Distance Learning and E-Learning website covering certification courses for PRINCE2, ITIL, MSP and APM.
>> Find Project Management & IT E-Learning

We’ve been intrigued by the strength of feeling being expressed by protagonists for and against distance learning. Our take is that there is both good and bad quality training whether you are looking at E-learning or instructor led training.  So work out what suits your situation then make sure the quality is right.

Interestingly, saving money is by no means the only motivator for those choosing E-learning over classroom courses. It’s often more driven by the need for flexibility in hours spend studying, and the wish to feel fully prepared before taking the exam. Those taking this route are often highly motivated and pass rates can be higher than for the equivalent classroom course.

Terminology
There’s not much consistency and at Focus we tend to use Distance Learning and E-Learning somewhat interchangeably. In fact there are a lot of other related terms in use.

Distance Learning:  the most generic term which probably goes back to Pitman in the 19th Century
E-Learning:  any training where delivery is mainly by electronic media. Often implies delivery via web�
CBT:  computer based training. Often used when the material is loaded via CD
Synchronous Learning:  E-Learning with a live (but remote) trainer
Blended Learning:  a combination of distance learning and classroom elements
M-Learning:  distance learning via mobile devices
V-Learning:  learning inside a virtual world (such as second life)
G-Learning: learning via computer games

The Case against E-Learning
With due deference to Rob Chapman
http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=194343

E-Learning is a classic example of the readiness with which people are ready to disregard received wisdom.  We know that the more contact we have with our teachers the better we learn.

Are you really going to retain facts crammed in between a half-eaten sandwich and a quick flick through a tabloid?

There’s no real incentive to complete E-learning courses quickly.

E-learning can limit the learning experience to reading, typing and clicking.

It’s a low cost way for senior managers to claim they have met their training obligations.

The Defence
With due deference to Donald Clark
http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com

Employees prefer short bites of learning, just when they need them.

The new generation of e-learning tools are capable of providing a highly individual development experience.

E-learning is cheaper, faster and more environmentally friendly.

E-learning is not a standalone solution but should form part of the overall learning strategy.

Tied to the triple tyranny of a specific place at a specific time with specific trainers, the “course” is seriously outdated.

Courses are at odds with the psychology of learning.

More people learn from books than any other medium.

Blogalot - April 2009

Prince2 for Girls

You can now obtain Prince2 certification in a single sex class - but at present only if you’re a girl.

Courses are running every month or two in London and the initial responses have been very positive. As well as an all female environment there is a free massage after the Practitioner exam on the final day of the course to help you unwind.

Training company Maven summed up feedback from the last course as follows:
“The overall view was that it gave some of the more timid members of the group the power and confidence to interact more freely with their other colleagues. The ‘girls only’ learning zone created a nurturing and inspirational experience and made some delegates more relaxed.”

At Focus we are very supportive of innovation in the training market and if this concept works, why not do more of it?

The next course is on 22 June 2009.
>> Book Online
>> Information about PRINCE2

It’s a radical step - What do you think ?  Good idea ?  Sexist ?  Daft ?

Female project managers may also be interested in these sites:
>> http://www.pm4girls.elizabeth-harrin.com
>> http://www.equalitec.org.uk/
>> http://www.womenintechnology.co.uk/

Blogalot - April 2009

Make Your Training Budget Go Further

1. Prioritise
Rate your various training requirements according to “business criticality”.
All organisations will vary but the “Business Critical” training needs usually fall into one of the following categories:
a. Skills which will have a direct impact on underperforming business metrics eg Effectiveness of Project Delivery, Negotiation of Higher Prices, or Quality of IT Services.
b. Skills which are pre-requisites or enablers for the effective introduction of technology or other investments eg enhanced IT systems
c. Investment in the people who will be leading the organisation in 2 to 5 years’ time
d. Skills which are truly essential for regulatory compliance (eg Health & Safety, or Information Security)

2. Be Creative
Can the learning need be met in ways other than a course.
Remember training lesson number one – training does not need to mean a course.
a. Job shadowing is often used for new recruits, but can be a more viable option for more experienced employees when time is not being intensively utilised.
b. To tackle practical, everyday aspects of personal performance use coaching or mentoring by line managers (or perhaps by an older employee who is opting for early retirement).
c. Train the trainer: in areas such as IT it is sometimes sensible to invest in one (or a few) individuals who can then cascade their knowledge to a wider team.
d. Job Swaps.  Employees often find 1 to 3 month job swaps a stimulating and rewarding way to develop new capabilities and build business awareness.
e. Knowledge Banks. Consolidate key information which is often taken for granted using intranets or knowledge management tools.

3. Explore
Don’t just go to the trainers you know and love. Surf the net.
You’re concentrating on the important, you’ve found creative internal routes to satisfy some requirements – but now you need to source the rest from third party providers. Your first thought is that list of trainers you’ve been using for the past 10 years – even though you know the feedback on some of them was less than perfect. Before you do, SEARCH THE WEB.

4. Negotiate
You can often get the same training for less.
It’s a competitive environment for your organisation – and it is for trainers too.  If you are booking multiple courses, or your booking will impact the viability of a training event then you may be well positioned to obtain discounts from training providers.

5. Consolidate
There may be on-site options or more scope to negotiate.
Group the training needs within your organisation.  Look across multiple departments.  Steer employees to satisfy similar learning needs with a common solution.  Use industry standard certification courses rather than tailored one off training.  If you can group together those who need particular types of training then there are significant cost saving opportunities including onsite courses.

6. Find Funding
There’s more public funding than ever before.
The good news is that the government will assist all companies to develop employee skills and there are schemes which are likely to be of direct financial benefit to most organisations.  The bad news is that there is a lack of consistency so available help can vary according to location, size of business, type of training and industry sector. More Information about Training Funding

7. Evaluate
Make sure you have solid data on the costs and benefits.
Yes. Painful but essential.  When times are tough it is more important than ever to ensure you understand which training has been most effective in meeting the needs of the organisation.  Most HR professionals will be systematic in obtaining feedback on the training itself and its relevance to the work of the delegate. Perhaps the “watchout” in this area is to check that you are truly assessing value to the business rather than just the individual.

Blogalot - 10th February 2009

More Training Funding - but why is it so confused?

A little publicised announcement by Skills Secretary John Denham recently advised that “small businesses will be the focus of £350m of Government funds to help them train their staff”. This marks one of a series of steps by government to extend and simplify business training support.

The bad news is that there is a lack of consistency so available help can vary according to location, size of business, type of training and industry sector.  Whilst there is a huge Learning and Skills Council bureacracy behind government funded training it is difficult for individual businesses to see exactly what training will be supported.  With rules changing all the time and variability across the country many companies decide it is just not worth the effort.

If you do want to explore available options the first port of call should be Train To Gain (or the corresponding services in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). You will be assigned a skills broker who is funded by the Learning and Skills Council.  These advisors are generally very pragmatic and will do all they can to assist you in identifying needs and selecting appropriate training providers. Use the links below to reach your relevant contact.

Traditionally, government support has focused on support for training of young people seeking their first Level 2 (equivalent to 5 GCSEs) or Level 3 (equivalent to 2 A-Levels) qualifications.  There is full funding for all businesses in these categories for 19–25 year olds – and indeed some opportunities for Level 4 qualifications. Since the Denham announcement in October 2008 the guidelines are less prescriptive, especially for private sector businesses with up to 250 employees.

There is significant support for developing Leadership and Management within SMEs.  The current scheme provides funding of up to £1,000 for this purpose; the first £500 is in the form of a grant and the remainder is on a matched funding basis. This means that valuable training and certifications such as ISEB Business Analysis Diploma, Change Management, or ITIL can be funded for a minimal outlay.

From January 2009 private sector SMEs can also get support for focused training programmes in subjects such as business improvement, IT support and risk management.

Other schemes support those affected by recession.  As well as support to individuals made redundant,  the ReAct programme in Wales provides assistance with training of new starters when recruits have been subject to redundancy. There is considerable flexibility as to the type of training which can be supported.

For companies with more than 5,000 employees advice is provided by the National Employer Service. Companies which have been helped with large scale, sustainable training programmes include Sainsbury’s, Vodafone, Tesco, Royal Mail, Rentokil Initial, Ford, McDonald’s and BAe Systems.

Blogalot