Shenaaz Karim, one of the awesome fans on our Facebook page, recently told us something along those lines, so we decided it'd be nice to involve her in a little Q and A on Facebook in which she could ask Debbie, CEO, founder, and Cape Town trainer at Staff Training, anything she likes about what being a trainer is all about. Here's a run down of what went down….
Shenaaz: I'm excited :)) How are you? Ok ok. I have a few questions, firstly, what ability must a good trainer have?
Debbie: :-)) In my opinion a good trainer needs to be logical, patient, listen well and be very tuned in to the needs of others. Maybe even have a great sense of humour!
Shenaaz: Ok, so do those traits fall into the skills one needs or are there other skills one needs to have?
Debbie: As far as soft skills go, good communication ability and a fairly decent emotional quotient level. As far as hard skills go, definitely good computer research skills, PowerPoint and general computer savvy. Oh, and a really great knowledge of the subject matter!!!!
Shenaaz: Do you need a qualification as well? And if yes, what would you work towards?
Debbie: The qualification can be anything from experience combined with short courses such as train the trainer/assessor/moderator to degrees with the same short courses.
Shenaaz: Silly question, but can you do there courses anywhere?
Debbie: Not silly - and yes there are numerous training companies such as our own that offer them. Normally about three to four days of training. In the region of R4000 or so.
Shenaaz: When you do the course, do you choose a field of expertise to train people in or how does it work?
Debbie: Well, no, what the course teaches you is the technique of facilitation or training. It doesn't matter what your subject matter is, the way you present normally only differs slightly. E.g. it could tell you to make all your "learners" comfortable by giving them a clear guideline and timetable for the day as well as directions to the bathrooms and dining room!! lol!
Shenaaz: Lol ok, so what makes one trainer better than another? And what challenges does a trainer experience?
Debbie: I personally think a trainer with experience in what they are training is better - simply because they are more credible...it's sort of a do-as-I-do thing and not do-as-I-say.
It also means that theory has been tried and if it does not work, it has been adapted. Challenges? If you have delegates who see the training as a whip rather than an opportunity. E.g. they have been through a disciplinary procedure for something that happened and the training is part of the performance management.
Also delegates who are not open to learning as they think they know it all already. HUGE challenge! And there are evenings that you go home totally exhausted from trying to control one person in a room of 12 whilst not taking away anything from the other 11.
Shenaaz: What is the down side? Pitfalls and such. And is there a future in this profession?
Debbie: Lol, If the trainer gets a GOD complex. Because as soon as you become arrogant (because you are used to people asking you for information and direction all the time), you stop learning, this in turn means that you lose touch!! And about the future - yes!!!! Very much so. SA has a huge skills shortage and this profession can only grow.
Shenaaz: Ok, so how does one make a break into the market? And what's a typical day in the life of a trainer and any parting advice?
Debbie: To break into the market you need to see what you are particularly good at. Where are your current areas of expertise? Who would need these? Go and offer them free sessions if you have to. From that your experience builds and from there your CV starts improving...(that is pretty much what I did)…
A typical day? No such thing! Some days you train people and places you are familiar with and other days not - you hear about new challenges and some days not…some days your delegates talk to you and other days you really have to draw them out...the only thing that is constant is the course outline and the material.
Parting advice - good luck, go make it happen! And your are most welcome, hope it helped - and thanks Matt for facilitating!
Shenaaz: Yes indeed, it's great having direction finally! So Thank You again. Have an awesome day and the same to you Matt :)
And there you have it! Shenaaz, we wish you well! Remember, knowledge is power!