Training Developments

The issue of training , teaching and skills acquistion has been a major & important part of my life, both as a deliverer, teacher & trainer as well as a participant.   I have been fortunate enough to have taught pretty much at every level of education from primary level to postgraduate, from teaching important life skills such as literacy and numeracy, to teaching intricate tax rules to financial advisors at Coutts. 

Learning, in my humble opinion is a continual process, one never stops acquiring knowledge and skills, for  both practical and esoteric reasons.  Work based skills are having the spot light  shone on them with greater intensity, this needs to be done within the framewok of creating a framework of knowledge and showing how to tap into and apply that framework.  

Accredited courses provide such a framework and accreditation is also a way of applying quality control, acknowledgement and wider recognition to an individuals course of study, non-accredited courses are also an important element of a blended learning experince. 

We have recently obtained the ILM (Institute of Learning and Management) approval as an accredited learning centre , enabling us to deliver a suite of  qualifications for businesses, self employed, apprentices and managers in the Private, Creative and Not for Profit Sectors, details to follow.

Planning – it needs to be done

It has been a very busy, demanding exciting & interesting  few weeks since my last blog, like most of us I want to be make sure the phrases "I  was meaning to, or I'll do it when I get time etc" do not get in the way of achieving aspirations (and writing this blog).   We lead demanding lives, one casusalty of this is that planning takes more of a back seat, planning is a process and discipline that plays a vital role in our business and working lives, but it is an area that is sadly neglected or scant attention paid to.  We would not normally go on holiday without at least some rudimentary planning, for example where to stay, required curerncy, visas and places to visit. 

There are three plans (forecasts) that individuals and organisations shoud ideally have, namely (1) cash flow – survival is impossible without access to cash; (2) business plan – a planning tool to help you document your vision and how you will achieve it; (3) strategic plan  – addressing (i) where we are we now; (ii) where we want to be;  and (iii) how we get there

There are many reasons why businesses and organisations fail to survive, one of the more common reasons is poor management, which means includes weak financial, business and planning skills.   

We have published a range of business and strategic planning information and tools which will support individuals and organisations, these are freely available on our website.