How To Choose The Best Training Certification Suman September 11, 2018

How To Choose The Best Training Certification

When we first start looking for a job, it’s the latest academic qualification that we push forward.

It could be engineering or management. A literature graduate or designing school major.

The same applies to starting a career as a corporate trainer.

A certification helps you stand out – at least till you build relevant experience to back you up.

WHAT IS A TRAIN THE TRAINER CERTIFICATION PROGRAM?

Learning a skill formally always adds to one’s knowledge and finesse.

And since training is not offered as an academic degree, a certification helps learn the ropes formally.

Train The Trainer is a certification to help you become better at training skills, irrespective of your subject of training.

A TTT helps you become an effective trainer by taking you through skills that a good trainer should have.

Listening, probing, time management, responding, authority are some of the things I learnt in my certification program.

You might cook very well but working with a chef and learning the skill sets from a professional will definitely give a more practical approach. 

WHY TRAIN THE TRAINER CERTIFICATION?

Apart from learning a new skill formally, here are a few ways a training certification can help you:

1. It can give you a much needed leg up if you are just starting out in the training industry

2. Whether you are a fresher or moving to training from another profession, the training certification is your key credential to apply for training assignments

3. A training certification tells your client that you’ve been exposed to the basic practices of being a good trainer.

4. The latest programs address the important area of marketing oneself as a trainer. These programs not just offer training skills but content making and selling skills too – the latter being important if you venture out as a freelancer. 

5. Getting an advanced certification, like I did from IIM, Indore, not just adds to your credentials but also lends a new perspective to what you already know.

Once you are convinced that you should get yourself certified, the next question is – where to do it from?

WHERE TO GET YOUR TRAIN THE TRAINER CERTIFICATION FROM?

There are plenty of options today. But before looking into specific options, I’d lay down a few criteria to judge the certifying body with.

3 IMPORTANT THINGS TO CONSIDER

3 important things to consider while choosing a training certification

#1 What is the standing of the institute offering the certification?

I could impart knowledge about being a good trainer based on my experience and hand you a printed certificate from Soft Skills Studio.

But what is the value of that certificate in the market?

What does that piece of paper tell your prospective employers about your expertise as a trainer?

Those are the important questions to ask. There are various training companies that offer a certification. But who is the certifying body that authorises them to certify you as a competent trainer?

When I completed my certification in 2009, there weren’t many options in India. And Dale Carnegie is a name to reckon with in the field of conducting programs.

I’ve never had to face quizzical looks – “Dale who?” Everyone knows Dale who!

And I think it was money well spent just for the name. Although the program itself has left an indelible imprint on me as a trainer due to its powerful content.

I agree that trainers might change but the standards that Dale Carnegie upholds is adhered to by all its trainers. So I think it is safe to say that the certification from Dale Carnegie still has great value and is evergreen.

#2 What is the price of the certification?

I would want to know this even before I see what it covers.

If there are no qualifying criteria to hand out certifications, there are no governing bodies that keep a check on the price.

The more popular I am – or the more powerful my branding is – the higher the fee for my certification!

And a lot of it is heresy!

“Hey! I heard ABCD has a great certification. It costs a bomb but I hear it’s good”

Where did you hear it? And what qualifies the said person to recommend ABCD?

I’ve seen the fee ranges from a few thousand to a couple of lakhs and then some.

The most important question is – is it worth it?

You spend a huge amount on the certification – how long will it take you to make that back using the certification. If the certifying authority has hand holding to help you find assignments and navigate the business side, spend that money by all means.

#3 What does the training certification cover?

Apart from the name, the content justifies the fee.

But as a novice, it is hard for a trainer to figure out how much of it is fluff. And this gives the companies leeway to fill in what they like.

But this is is less of a possibility if you go for a known name like, say, IIM. The content is definitely going to be top-notch and you wouldn’t mind paying a premium either.

Again, the critical question is – how soon will you be able to recover that money?

Does your certification have the power to open doors of opportunity for you?

HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST TRAINING CERTIFICATION FOR YOU?

Once you have a list with all the details mentioned above, it is time for some comparative study.

The first question to ask is – What is it that you want to learn?

Do you want only a certification that gets your foot in the door?

Do you want a whole 3 course meal of training, content and branding?

Or would you rather learn branding as a separate course?

For instance, when image consulting became a popular field, a lot of people suggested that I get a certification from Image consulting Business Institute, the no. 1 destination in the country for the same.

I never had any interest in switching fields. But one look at their courses confirmed my decision.

The soft skills (which I already train in) and image consulting course was a whopping 3 lac plus! So despite the brand name and the popularity of image consulting as a profession, this certification was definitely not for me.

Instead I chose to go to IIM, Indore for an advanced certification for 24 grand! And that was directly relevant to and enhanced my profile.

So feel free to first decide what works for you and not essentially what the certification claims to do for you.

IIM Indore

The advanced training certification from IIM, Indore was much more relevant to my career goals

Second comes research.

No matter which course you choose – more importantly if you chose a more expensive one – ask for testimonials.

Ask to talk to alumni. Find out what they think of the course and its contribution to their training career? How is business going for them since the certification?

Ask what kind of hand holding are they willing to provide? Will there be any help in connecting you to corporates or other training opportunities?

Go for a certification that does justice to the price.

CONSTANT LEARNING IS THE KEY

Certification is a one time thing. Maybe for starters and the basics.

But a long term career in any field calls for self learning, especially in times like these where there’s so much information all over the place.

We live in rapidly changing times and concepts become redundant in no time.

To be effective as a trainer, it is important to be a student of it. Read books, watch videos, take up courses. This will help you stay on top of the game and offer your unique knowledge and expertise to your clients.

For instance, for my public speaking course, I’ve completed an online certification on Dynamic Public Speaking from the University of Washington. Although it was an online course, I got to learn from a professor in Washington with 25 years of teaching experience and a PhD in communication! 

And this course transformed my own approach to the way I speak but also made my communication programs more effective.

I have also read some amazing books on public speaking which have taught me what the best speakers do to communicate effectively. I keenly follow the World Championship of Public Speaking and gorge on the winning speeches. The more you add to self-development in your field, the better trainer you will be. 

I hope I have been able to bring forth all the points that an aspiring trainer is looking for.

You can also read about the trainer mentoring program that I run for aspiring trainers here.

Here is a testimonial from an aspiring trainer who went through the program:

“Enrolling myself for the Trainer- Mentoring program with Suman Kher is certainly one of the positive things I have done in 2020. During the program, Suman has not only just demonstrated her domain expertise but also shared anecdotes from personal experiences and the step by step process of establishing oneself as a Personal Brand in the Training Industry.”

– Archana Parmar

(Disclaimer: I do not endorse or recommend any institute mentioned in this post for certification purposes. Please carry out you own research to make a decision)

Do you have more points to add? Do you have questions to ask? You can directly talk to me here

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