I'd be grateful for suggestions of the best way for a recent graduate to get into training.
My son has graduated this year from Liverpool university (2.1 BA hons Philosophy) and is trying to decide what career to follow.
He is outgoing enjoys interacting with people, thinking on his feet and seems to have the ability and patience to explain things clearly. He is used to working with groups of people and presenting.
He does not want to teach children but is interested in the prospect of training adults.
The only experience I have had, of people moving into training, is via HR but is there a more direct route?
Peter Duckitt
Peter Duckitt
4 Responses
Qualification
A good qualification to start with is to get the TAP qualification, (5 day couse for new trainers), run by the Training Foundation – find details at http://www.trainingfoundation.com If you have a look at the course section and then trainers and Training Delivery Skills. If your son has done any training at all he may be able to do the 3 day course instead. Hope that helps
College Lecturer ?
Many colleges of Further Education will take a graduate with a particular subject knowledge and will usually provide training to achieve an FE Teaching award. This route provides useful experience and qualifications before moving on. You never know he may enjoy it so much that he’ll stay in FE!
Don’t specialise too early
Firstly congratulations to your son. You raise an issue I am particularly passionate about partly as a result of my own experience.
The skills you identify in your son are ones any manager or leader could be proud of. I believe that a person with business experience can become a great trainer but a trainer without business experience will struggle.
My advice would be don’t specialise too early get some business experience first, involve yourself in training wherever possible and develop a kit bag to draw on in the future. It will give your son confidence and credibility in the long run.
An option worth considering would be to undertake a graduate programme with a top company.
Hope that opens up some new avenues of thinking.
Experience first
I concur with Lindsay. The best trainers I have ever come across and upon whom I would model my approach are those who do not consider themselves as primarily trainers in the first instance!
My advice, for what it’s worth, is for your son to get some experience in a field of business or expertise and AFTER he has cut his teeth in this area look at developing the training skills necessary to communicate this to adults etc.
When training, one of the biggest factors is the ability to develop rapport and empathy with the audience and this is greatly helped, in my opinion, by having some content experience in the area in which you are training, facilitating etc. It greatly builds credibility.