Training budgets are under pressure, and a poor course wastes more than money: it costs participants days away from work and makes them sceptical of the next programme. Whether you are booking one person on a public course or a team on an in-house programme, these nine questions will help you choose well.
1. What will participants be able to do afterwards?
Look for specific, practical outcomes ("prepare a driver-based budget in Excel") rather than vague ones ("understand budgeting"). Good providers can explain how the course changes behaviour at work.
2. Who is the facilitator?
Ask for the facilitator's background. The best facilitators combine subject expertise with recent practical experience and the ability to teach adults. Someone who has actually run a procurement committee or led a finance team brings examples that make the content stick.
3. How practical is it?
Ask what proportion of the time is exercises, case studies and practice versus presentation. For skills such as negotiation, Excel or interviewing, practice is where the learning happens.
4. Can it be tailored?
For in-house training, a good provider will ask about your context before the course and adapt examples, case studies and emphasis. For public courses, ask whether participants can bring their own work problems.
5. What certificate will participants receive, and what does it mean?
Be clear about the difference between:
- A certificate of completion or attendance issued by the training provider, which shows that a person completed the course;
- An accredited qualification or credits registered through a SETA or the QCTO; and
- A professional certification such as PMP® or CBAP®, which is awarded only by the certifying body after its own exam.
Reputable providers are open about which of these they offer. Be cautious of anyone who implies that their course itself awards an international certification.
6. How is learning assessed?
Ask how the provider checks that participants have learnt, whether through quizzes, practical tasks or a post-course action plan, and whether results are shared with the organisation.
7. What support is there afterwards?
Course notes, templates, follow-up sessions or access to the facilitator for questions all help learning transfer back to the job.
8. What is the total cost?
Compare like with like: course fee, VAT, venue and catering, travel and accommodation, materials and exam fees where relevant. For in-house training, a per-group price often makes the cost per person much lower than public courses.
9. Can they provide what you need for compliance?
For skills development reporting you will need attendance registers and certificates for your Annual Training Report, and you may want to consider the provider's B-BBEE status for your own scorecard.
How Afriskora answers these questions
Every Afriskora course lists its outcomes, audience and day-by-day content on its course page. Participants receive an Afriskora Certificate of Completion, verifiable online, and signed attendance registers are provided for your records. Where a course prepares people for an external certification, we say so clearly and explain that the exam is booked with and awarded by the certifying body. Any course can be tailored and delivered in-house, live online or in a classroom in cities across Africa.
If you are planning training for a team, start with a training needs analysis, then request a quote and we will recommend the right format.