Target Talks is a series of interviews with key Target Training GmbH employees, designed to put them on the spot about a topic that really matters to all of us: the importance of training.  This week, we talk to Scott Levey, one of the company’s Directors.

As the Director of a training company, how important is training when it comes to your own staff?

SL: Training is as important to us as it is to every company.  Ironically though, trainers in the industry just don’t get enough training themselves, and there tends to be very little done on an incidental basis.  By nature, trainers often work independently and at best get development opportunities by accident.

Regarding our own staff?  Our policy is to attract and hire the best trainers and, through training, help them to stay sharp.  When we hire, we look specifically for evidence of continual improvement so we know we are working with people who are open to development and learning.

What advice would you give to a new manager confronted with his/her first training budget?

SL: Haha. Phone us!

No, seriously, take time to talk to your people about their current skills and their needs.  As their manager, it’s vital that you carve out your own time to think about these needs; skills; and the future situation of the organization you manage.

Another thing to bear in mind is that it is not always feasible to solve a current problem by throwing training at it: training often takes too long to solve an immediate concern.

And be ready to be actively involved in supporting whatever training you go for.  Your support, or lack of, makes so much difference.

What’s the most beneficial training you have put your staff through?

SL: This is a very difficult question to answer: some of the training has been directly job-relevant, while other is designed to introduce new skills (e.g., management courses for new managers).

I suppose the training from which we have had the most positive feedback has been our in-house "Boot Camp".  This is where we explore the new skills an InCorporate Trainer needs in order to be successful when delivering in-house training. New trainers generally have low expectations coming onto the course (‘training for training’s sake’ being a classic attitude) but the feedback has been consistently strong and participants report that they have been pushed, been developed and gained confidence during the week.  Not only that, their line managers have reported a clear difference, as have the end client.

The Boot Camp has acquired an outstanding reputation within Target; in fact, for budget reasons we recently looked at reducing the time required but decided against it.

And the most memorable training you have personally taken part in?

SL: Looking back at the last year, probably the Kirkpatrick Certificate Training in March (2012).  Jim Kirkpatrick is a skilled and charismatic facilitator, and just watching him caused me to pick up lots of tips and tricks for my own work.  The majority of the participants were HR managers—who are typically our clientele—so it was nice to be able to work together with them on a collegial basis and get a first-hand insight into how they work and learn.  Interestingly enough, their challenges closely reflected our own. I was particularly interested to hear how the soft skills training market in the UK compares to Germany: it seems to be a much more competitive—and perhaps saturated?—market than the one we operate in here.

Many thanks, Scott, for being the first to take part in our Target Talks series.  Now, over to our readers: which questions do you have for Target Training GmbH about training?