How to Create a Training Program

Step 1. Establish the goals of the training program

It’s incredibly hard to start a training program unless you have a clear idea of the objectives. What are the goals? Create a list of all the knowledge that you want to impart over the course, and this will form the basis of your training. Without this in place, it can be almost impossible to keep on track, and you’ll end up missing crucial information.

If you are creating a how-to guide, then the goals can be very simply divided into steps, which will help you to build the framework for your employee training program or commercial course.

Step 2. Understand how learning actually takes place

This is something that many people overlook when putting together a course, but it is an important part of creating a training program.

People have different learning styles and value different information. Some people will take a lot from reading written instructions, while others will gain virtually nothing from this, and instead need things like video content.

In fact, visual content is arguably the most effective tool when it comes to teaching, enabling you to display the exact information or steps required. Different learning styles should be catered for. For example, in the course, you can ensure that you offer both written instructions and simple video content, and your consumers can use both to gain knowledge.

Step 3. Outline key objectives and outcomes

Before building the course itself, work out the key objectives and exact outcomes. The goals should be as specific as possible. For instance, areas where you wish for the employee to be competent by the time they have completed the course.

Objectives may include things like showing someone how to use equipment or software, or more abstract things like an increased understanding of a subject. This is why it is important to be specific, if not, there is a risk of the course and training ending up being flaky and not really establishing the goals.

Try not to be over the top with your ambitions, either. You aren’t going to teach someone everything about astrophysics in an eight-hour video course. Objectives and outcomes should be reasonable when you set up a training program.

Step 4. Sketch out the learning resources

Once you know the objectives and the outcomes you will be aiming for, then you can start to sketch out the learning resources that are going to get you there.

Write out each objective and work out what sort of material you need to communicate every piece of information. For example, you might need diagrams or video content to explain something, or you might need to write a text list or step-by-step instructions.

You should also think about who might be delivering the training and how, as well as what sort of training will be offered. There may be certain employees that already do a superb job, who you can use to deliver the training. In some areas of formal education, training courses will need accredited professionals and actual teachers and lecturers, too.

Step 5. Design and create learning resources and steps

It’s time for making the specific aspects of your course. This includes filming video content you need, writing any text sections, taking screenshots, making graphics, and putting it together.

Having created your steps or your framework within the previous sections, the content can be built around these requirements. It may be that you create rough text content before you create the actual finished product, and some refinement may be required, such as editing the learning steps.

One of the key things is to ensure you are providing as much information as possible, in as many different ways as possible, without overwhelming people. For instance, you might want to provide text instructions, graphics, and a video, to cover how to do a certain business process or task. Ensuring this doesn’t end up being too convoluted will help to ensure effective learning.

The learning resources depend on exactly what you are teaching. A dog training course will be very different to teaching someone how to use some accounting software. If you are an expert on the topic, you will know how to set up a training program that covers the most important information.

Of course, all the information and learning materials needs to be compiled into a method that people can understand. Course authoring software like EdApp will help you pull everything together into a software solution or a simple format for people to work through.

Step 6. Test and implement

Now you can put the training program into use. At this point, you should have a rough version of the training program. Once you have created all of your learning resources, it is time to test them out.

This involves a test of whether your specific platform works, such as the section of your website or the app you have created to deliver the training program, but also the effectiveness of the course.

A great way to see if it is actually working is to have the course split into sections and have tests at the end of each section to see if the knowledge is really going in. If not, you can check where you are going wrong, and if information has been missed.

Step 7. Gain feedback and refine

You can start asking people their experience with your course and refining it accordingly. Perhaps people find a certain part of the course too difficult, or perhaps there is a part where the information doesn’t really come across clearly. The feedback from your users can come from testing, as mentioned, but their actual experience should also be valued.

Remember that the easier the information is communicated, the more people will complete the training program.

Creating a training program isn’t something you can do in a day. It takes a lot of planning to make something effective, but if you get it right then the results can be felt within your business, and you can help to teach huge numbers of people how to further their careers or even hobbies. Creating the right learning resources may take time, but it can be extremely effective if you follow the right steps.