Tips About Certifications, ATD,
Free & Paid Courses
You can still be a very successful trainer without spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours studying and taking exams.
Getting an ATD certification, Master's, Doctorate degree is still a good idea if your organization prefers you have one.
In the mean time . . . what should you do right now?
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by Patrick Whalen
I'm a big proponent of education, after all, I worked at a private university for almost a decade. I have a Master's degree. I have promoted formal university education and have helped many people push through to complete their degrees.
A formal university degree is not for everyone. In the domain of training and content development - it is not always really necessary.
The best trainers I ever hired and worked with didn't have an education anywhere near curriculum development, communication or psychology. What they had was an ability to learn and be comfortable in front of an audience - and at the same time be able to translate complex and intangible concepts to a group of people. One of my favorite employees had a degree in nursing, another was a former lawyer.
So what is ATD? Association for Talent Development is a fine organization, especially for people new to the training & development field. It has great research and reference materials available through a paid memberships.
It offers a Master-level course (among several high-level educational offerings), as well as certifications after completion of select courses and educational paths. At about $4,000 compared to a Master's program in Educational Psychology, Curriculum Development, of Communication, it's a great value.
I strongly recommend becoming a member if you are new to training. If you are looking for research and reference material, you can do just as well through internet searches, but it might take a bit longer.
But - What Do I Do Now?
I Need to Get Up to Speed Quickly!
You are here because you feel you have an urgent need to learn some basics about being a trainer. You might even be a little scared of this whole prospect of getting in front of an audience. that's ok. Being nervous is a good sign. Wanting to know what you are doing is also a good sign. Story of an expert programmer - terrible trainer.
It helps if you are a subject-matter expert. But quite honestly - all you need to know is what needs to be trained to your participants. There may be one or two people you run across expecting you to know everything there is about everything you train - but that isn't realistic. What to say to participant expecting you to be an expert.
Trainers sometimes refer to that last part as having good platform skills. Platform, is a bit of an old fashioned term as in being on a dais, a stage, a platform or elevated area in front of a collection of seats or desks. Trainers with good platform abilities are often extroverts and enjoy presenting. As a counter to that, some very effective trainers are actually introverted - like myself. Introverted trainers are able to transition into extroverted-like tendencies for short periods of time.