In-house Training Vs Public Training: Which should you choose?

Continuous improvement is vital to the success of any organisation. Perhaps you, your colleagues or your organisation are facing some issue and are in need of a new policy or a specific skill.

The key is to take action to find a solution – and we are confident that we have the training solution for your organisation.

There are two main types of training programs that are widely used; in-house training and public seminars. Choosing between the two depends on the requirements and resources of your company.

What is In-house Training?

In-house training – also referred to as “on-site” training – is team training delivered specifically for your organisation, at your premises or a venue of your choice.

You will be assigned a dedicated account manager, who will work with you and the trainer to develop a tailored program that covers everything you need from day one.

Advantages of In-house Training:

• Tailored content – With in-house training, course agendas can be adapted and tailored according to your team’s learning requirements. Whether you have a specific training need, or would like an existing course program delivered directly to you, in-house training is a convenient and practical approach to learning and development.
• Maximum return on your investment – With no hidden costs and all materials included in the price, the in-house option can often be the most cost-effective solution for your team compared with sending the same amount of delegates on an open course.
• Peace of mind – With your dedicated account manager taking care of all logistics for you, commissioning an in-house course can take the stress out of arranging a large scale training event.
• Team building – Taking time out of the office for your team to develop their skills together can be a great team building exercise, and provides a unique opportunity to discuss issues specific to your organisation with expert trainers.

When to Choose the In-house Training Option:

• You have a large team of colleagues within your organisation who would benefit from attending the course.
• You have a specific training requirement and would like a tailor-made training agenda created with your organisation in mind.
• You are interested in open courses, but cannot make the date or are unable to travel to an event.

What are Public Training Seminars

Public seminars are classroom trainings held on a regularly scheduled basis. Any individual or employee belonging to any organisation can register and attend this on a per-person fee basis.

Advantages of Public Training

• Inexpensive- Suitable and cost effective where an individual or small number of IT professionals within a team need to learn a specific IT professional topic
• Focused Environment- The training happens in a dedicated training room away from the attendees’ organisations, reducing the chances of workplace distractions or crises which can scuttle learning effectiveness.
• Networking Opportunities- Because the audience often comes from a variety of organisations, there are good opportunities to network and learn from others with different experiences.

When to use Public Training:

• You are placing yourself on training as an individual or an IT contractor
• Your team is small and it is more cost effective to train the partial team through available rather than dedicated in-house courses.
• You cannot take the whole team out for training at the same time, and it is more cost-effective to train the partial team through available public courses.
• You want to get exposure to other people and their experiences with this topic in different organisations

The organizational structure is a major determinant for a company’s successful completion of a training program. It is important to remember that no training program is a perfect solution for everyone. But, by clearly understanding the nature of these two learning and development programs, identifying the right solution for your organisation can be made much easier.