In my function we have to complete timesheets for tasks carried out. The expected % level of IT training delivery seems to be very high; we develop all our own material and the systems are frequently changing.
I would be very interested to find out what an average week looks like for Trainers in other companies.
Thank you for any help you can give
Lucy Cameron
5 Responses
7hrs a day, 5 days a week
Hi Lucy,
For myself, most weeks I am in a class-room training 7hrs a day, 5 days of the week.
One average, I get around 2 days a month in the office to design and update training programmes, more time if I am designing new training for a specific programme.
Trust this helps.
Trainer Time
Hi Lucy,
I train employees for 7 and a half hours a day, 5 times per week on most weeks. I generally spend my evenings and weekends actually preparing my training sessions, training scripts, training manuals and training materials, as well as setting up the test examples on the systems.
The reason for this is because their just aren’t enough hours in the day to get it done at work as I am usually delivering training sessions.
Our systems are constantly changing and I need to change all of my material when this happens.
I would say that I spend an extra 15 – 20 hours developing materials, training sessions and manuals a week. I am the only IT trainer in my company however so I don’t know whether this is normal practice.
I train Microsoft Office from foundation level through to advanced level, all of our SAP system and we are getting another new system in shortly.
This is typical for my week but it would depend on how many IT trainers you have and the amount of delivery that they did, compared to the amount of hours allocated for administration.
Training admin
Hi
I have found that its a constant battle to keep manuals and material up to date for applications training as before you know it ver xyz of Microsoft Office or Windows has been unleashed on the market !
I train on average 2- 3 days a week and work on consultancy work the rest of the time, then when required fit in manual development!
I would like more time to develop manuals as it recently took a least a week to assemble an advanced Project course manual with an end exercise. There are tools out there that do the manual assembly for you such as http://www.sanscrip.com etc but it can appear mechanised. If you create your own manuals you have full control and learn it for yourself as you go along!
Hope this is useful
Training time
Administration and development time is always under-estimated by those who don’t have to do it. It will obviously vary depending on amount of changes to material and what is involved with the admin. I find with routine maintenance and a fairly streamlined administration process, 2.5 to 3 days training delivery works well, especially if done in half day blocks.
Amanda Rothwell – you’re a star carrying that workload. That’s a huge amount of training!
How long is a piece of string?
Hi, Lucy
I think this is a “How long is a piece of string” question. The time needed to prepare for training involves so many factors that I don’t think figures are particularly helpful.
Firstly, it depends on the material being taught: Is it something you teach regularly but need to update occasionally? Is it new material which takes a lot of research/reflection time? Are you involving others and needing to plan in time for discussion? Are you using creative techniques which need time to simmer?
It also depends on the resources involved: Are you using off-the-shelf materials, adapting materials or devising completely new materials? Are the materials mainly text-based, or do you need pictures, props, drawing? Do you have to make them, order them, shop around for them? Do you have to make or put together things (props, delegate packs, etc.)for the session?
Then there is the admin side. Do you have to organise venues, write to participants, keep track of attendance, etc., etc.? Do you have to do evaluation, keep statistics, write reports?
And then, there are your own skills and abilities. Are you fast or slow at reading, typing, composing, drawing/producing graphics? Do you need time to reflect on new ideas, or do you generate them fairly quickly?
Only you can know the answer to these questions (and others will probably arise as you think about it), and only you can set a pace that is right for you. I think you would probably be best timing yourself on some of these tasks and then coming up with YOUR average preparation time, as no one else’s estimate is likely to fit you and your working environment.