The 4 Biggest Challenges Faced By Training Companies

Last year, we shared the top 4 challenges faced by training companies. The top 4 were: 

#1 Increasing costs

#2 Growing competition in the training industry

#3 Lack of business visibility

#4 Inconsistent training experiences

With the ever changing training landscape, have the same concerns remained or are training professionals facing new challenges?

How Have Training Industry Challenges Changed?

2018 has been quite a year for the training industry already. With training organisation becoming acquainted with the apprenticeship levy, the run-up to the GDPR deadline and the UK hitting the two-year mark since the Brexit vote.

The results are in for our 2018 Training Industry Survey.  For this year’s report, our training organisations come from a broad range of industries, in order to really take the pulse of the training world as a whole. This includes respondents training in project management, engineering, the health and social care sector, and leadership & HR – each looking at the training world from a different perspective, and each offering valuable industry insights. 

 #1 Lack of resources 

Climbing the rankings from both our 2016 and 2017 results, lack of available resources was recognised as a key area where training professionals are struggling. 

Essentially, today's training organisations are expected to do with more with less. 

According to our survey results, the average training business is spending 26 resource hours on administration.  So, how can you do more with what you've got? Eliminating manual processes is a great place to start.  

One way to this is by ditching the spreadsheets and investing in automation. A training software system can help to automate your entire booking process including course communications, certificate generation and you can even remove the hassle of registering delegates and processing payments with an online booking tool. 

And, with the reduction in administration processes, more time can be sent developing and enhancing existing courses.

#2 Alternative learning delivery methods

 One of the biggest challenges recognised in this year's survey, was the threat of alternative learning delivery methods, such as online and distance learning, threatening traditional classroom based training. With 78% of respondents focusing on delivering face to face training, this a big area that could make an impact in the training industry. 

The survey results showed that online self-service learning is an area that many training companies plan to focus on in the upcoming 12 months, perhaps to meet this shift in demand.

Now, we're not saying to move away from your core competencies but with advancing technologies you have the option to blend your face to face learning with eLearning and online delivery.

#3 Increased competition 

Although less of a worry than in previous years, almost a third of respondents felt that increasing competition is an area of concern. 

Our survey revealed that marketing is heavily reliant on word of mouth and referrals with social media following up the rear. Training providers are still not fully utilising digital marketing tactics such as Google Ads and SEO.  With an increased online presence, the likelihood of your training courses being booked increases dramatically. Going one step further and offering online course booking and payment can stand you apart from the competition even more. You can even reward your learners and promote your courses  with discounts, vouchers, promos and seasonal offers. 

Check out this free content marketing guide for training companies for more tips on how to increase your presence. 

#4 Increasing costs

Similarly to increased competition, increasing costs are still a significant issue for training organisations. However this concern has declined from previous years.  

To reduce costs you first need to understand where they are coming from. Which of your offerings are actually costing you money? How can you market your courses better? Is your sales team performing?

Other challenges reported included:

• Lack of time to complete tasks
• The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Effective course promotion
• Lack of business visibility
• Decreased marketing budget
• Brexit

Can you relate to these challenges? Let me know in the comments below!