My programme of weekly masterclasses, 1-1s and action learning sets allowed a deep dive into a range of topics, including:

Building their personal and professional L&D brand

The full ADDIE training cycle

Exploring how adults learn

Drivers and barriers to workplace training

Confident public speaking, presentation and facilitation skills

Difficult situations, challenging audiences, assertiveness and DEI issues

Training evaluation

Coaching and feedback skills.

I concluded my contract (initially twelve months then extended to eighteen) having created, delivered and evaluated a successful programme, polishing and building skills.

They said

Extracts from this small cohort’s responses to my programme:

“Train the Trainer – this was a very helpful overview of the key components of training.

Your delivery is always very enthusiastic and encouraging and it’s great that we were able to have that together as a team with you and share experiences.

I have always been impressed by the way you have taken on tasks for the team such as delivering the FLR and the design and delivery of the scams materials. This has been a great help and allowed us to see your knowledge in practice.

I think one of the key changes for me has been your focus on the role of the trainer in influencing the training we deliver and being prepared to challenge. Previously it was more of a case in that we were told to deliver training and that was it. However, now I am more confident to query the training that has been requested and the delegates down for it.

Your input on our design and delivering has been key to helping us improve our overall library of materials.

You have helped me understand what it means to be a trainer and that I know more than I realised!”

Garry, Associate Trainer and Quality Assurance Advisor, Customer Support

“I can honestly say I’ve appreciated it and feel far more of an L&D professional now, which is as a result of your support, training and encouragement.

Train the Trainer Programme – I found all of your training very relatable and engaging. At the point it was delivered it was the biggest investment in my own job-specific role that I felt I had had.

You introduced the idea of a ‘personal brand’ and linked this to us directly so that we started on the journey of seeing ourselves as ‘L&D Consultants/professionals’. As a result, I now very much DO see myself this way.

I am also more conscious of how I can add value and question/challenge rather than just accept a request/order.

You have definitely supported the CS Dev trainers to create and embed an effective evaluation model and we are all far more aware of it’s importance, it’s relevance and it’s use now when we design and deliver training.

I very much have a mantra in mind now when it comes to anything training related, which is something you impressed on us; and that is, ‘I start with the end in mind’.

Framework Review Project – I appreciated the fact that you drove this forward … Our training material is catalogued in a better way and is easier to identify.

I also learned from how you developed and delivered your ideas … not aiming for perfect straight off – but working in progress with good content is always better/more useful/preferable.

Knowledge Huddles, Sessions, Away Days – like the wider team in CST, I always enjoyed these and felt confident to contribute both as a fellow ‘L&D professional’ (!!) and also as a participant who was less familiar with the topic or angle of deliver.

I took notes on your own personal delivery – including how you referred to your notes in ‘real time’ (e.g. Away day) and also how to confidently project your voice to a wider group and get things on the go.

It was interesting and encouraging to see you take a topic which was new to you, scope it out, produce ideas, share them, create a proof of concept and then design something from that. I could see in real-time how Analysis, Design, Delivery is put in to practice and how a business needs and can use data gathered from sound evaluation.

Other topics were ones which you brought with you borrowing your own experience; these were more behavioural and I think you have left a legacy for us with these. The wider CST are fully engaged with things like ‘personal brand’ and ‘CV building’ and assertiveness. This is an area I think L&D professionals can enhance and extend their personal brand awareness from delivering and you have opened the door on this.

I plan doing the following as a result of all of the above:

Continuously developing my L&D skills …

Be inquisitive about L&D in all its iterations and doing as much self-learning (& sharing) as I can …

Being conscious of the ADDIE cycle and starting with the end in mind …

Working on developing a personal brand – or at least ‘reinventing’ what this is …

Creating more of an on-line footprint (i.e getting myself on LinkedIn) …

Aiming to be an asset to CS Dev, CST, FLR and wider – by taking on more of a ‘consultative’ mind-set …

Seeing where there are opportunities to network within the L&D community of knowledge …

Seeing myself as an authentic L&D professional with good/valid experience”

John, Associate Trainer and Quality Assurance Advisor, Customer Support

The full testimonials are available on request