Yes, we are a language training company and we’re telling you that training is important. Obvious, right?
But you have to weigh up the options. Training has to be understood as an investment, not an expense. When we talk about the cost of training, we shouldn’t just try to find out which is the cheapest provider. This is the vision that most companies still have and that leads to misunderstandings and to asking the wrong questions, such as: “How much should a course cost? €10/h or €100/h?”, or “If I pay €5000 for a Portuguese course, will I double my earnings from exports to Portugal?”
It is not about economic power; it is about economic management.
You should not worry about whether training will be more expensive or cheaper, but about knowing where you will invest each euro. Thinking strategically and reflecting on the “for whom”, “how” and “why” of each training will equate to the optimisation of resources and the consequent creation of talent and value for the company using the lowest possible budget. Thus, in the end, the smartest training is the one that costs the least money according to the results achieved on the stipulated objectives. And knowing that “time is money”, the question of time invested and the results obtained also arises.
If you have wasted your time, 100% of your investment has been lost. And this is probably the biggest hidden cost of training.
Most training doesn’t have to be broad and encompassing everything possible; on the contrary, we believe in adaptation and in criteria; trainers and students need to know exactly what is expected of them so that they can carry out their work effectively. Relevance, adaptation and specificity can ensure that companies do not spend more than they need to.
So do not give up on training. Give up on bad training. Your colleagues, your company and your finances will thank you.
If you think training is expensive – rather than trying ignorance – try poor training.