Economical Training

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?