There are many
companies that provide training programs, seminars and videos. However, this
book was designed for small companies. Large companies that provide training
for large corporations charge a lot of money because their training is for
large staffs. It is not unusual to pay over $1500 for a single training
program. As you will learn, one video is not enough. It is likely that you will
pay thousands to train your staff if you plan to acquire all the videos. Here
are some ideas on how to cut these costs.
CAE Consultants Inc.
specializes in written programs. Some of our plans have simple PC
slide shows that can be used for training or refreshers. Call
(914)963-3695 to see if we have a written plan for your industry and if it
has a PC slide show.
Insurance company is
often a little-known source of FREE training and most
businesses don't even know it. Even if you have a small policy with a
company like AETNA for example, they will train you free of charge!
Courses they provide are very comprehensive. The only requirement is
that you send personnel to their site.
Community colleges
and state programs may provide additional low cost sources of
training. Check all available resources in your community, including
the fire department, the police, your sewage treatment and water system
plants. Find out where they train and what it would cost you.
Local business
libraries, society libraries, or trade libraries or non-profit groups in
your area may allow you to borrow materials for a period.
Government
training materials are generally less expensive, but not much more. For
example, OSHA courses require you to travel to their site and they
still run several hundred dollars. You can rent videos from certain
companies, like ITS, Their videos are expensive but rentals are quite
reasonable. The library of congress may allow borrowing and some
State libraries may have materials they can mail to you. Check it out. Local
consultants may not be as expensive as you think.
They
may have materials ready and their fees to offer several courses could be
reasonable, particularly if you combine this with other businesses.
Work with your local technical society or chamber of commerce to see if
you can do joint training with another group.
You don't really
have to go overboard either. You can use a training video, but in most
cases, merely setting down with the employee and conveying the more
important concepts of your program is sufficient. You can administer
your own test. Just be sure that you record everything and make them
sign their training completion forms.
Where
states require training, you are stuck having to take their courses and
pay their license fees. In New York, for example, obtaining all of
the licenses required to handle asbestos runs over $2,000. It is a
way to lock people into a particular training program for which someone
has contracted. It leaves some trainers out of the business. If you
are a small minority business, see if you can get a grant to train your
staff.
Some
states put a lot of taxpayer money in developing programs for their
government and federal employees. They may have a program to allow
local small businesses to share the cost. Call and check it out. Sometimes
you can work a special deal with the program director. If they
have empty seats in the classroom why let them go to waste?
