Category: Company News

Are you considering virtual classroom training? Do you have questions about how it will work in practice? Wondering if it’s the right training solution for you?

Hear from our specialist training team about the unique set-up of our virtual classroom sessions and how they can benefit you as you work from home.

Easy access from the comfort of your own home

Our virtual classroom sessions are a full day training course, broken into bite-sized learning sessions with regular comfort breaks to stretch those legs and keep topped up with coffee. To get involved all you need is a PC/laptop with audio and camera!

We provide several options for those that have technology limitations, and also allow some flexibility to help you balance the training with childcare.

“Many of our delegates are dealing with managing their work at home and several other priorities, but luckily us trainers are experts in patience and so will do our best to accommodate!”
– Dennis, Microsoft Office Trainer

Ask questions and learn new skills in a relaxed setting

In the virtual classroom we encourage using video feed to maximise non-verbal communication and interaction.

 

Small group sizes mean that there are also lots of opportunities to ask questions. In fact, your trainer will be constantly asking you questions throughout the day so you can’t get away with daydreaming!

“Interestingly I’ve found that participants are immediately extremely comfortable and relaxed when they join the virtual classroom. I guess because they are in their own home with a nice cup of tea. It means that we can very quickly get the session off to a great start, with lots of discussion and participation from the very beginning.”
– Gregory, Professional Development Trainer

Interactive and fun

Our trainers use a variety of activities to keep you engaged throughout the day. These can range from quizzes and interactive whiteboards, to team competitions, personal reflection worksheets and skill practice sessions.

Our trainers also tend to have larger than life personalities, so if you’re expecting to get bored then think again!

“Our natural enthusiasm for the topics we teach help us to build rapport and keep everyone engaged, even with highly technical concepts. I just love getting people excited about Power BI!”
– Jens, Power BI Trainer

Connect with others in similar positions

An issue many employees suddenly face now they work remotely is the effects of isolation and loneliness. Luckily, our virtual classroom trainings give you the opportunity to get together virtually and connect with like-minded people. The sessions really are a great chance to share common challenges, brainstorm and even solve problems.

“During the session we encourage peer-to-peer learning, so it isn’t simply a lecture from your trainer. We particularly focus on helping you apply the skills and knowledge to real-life work scenarios – whether those scenarios are remote working or one day in the future when we get back to the office.”
– Alastair, Management Skills Trainer

Support before, during and after your virtual classroom session

Our admin team work very hard behind the scenes to ensure our virtual classroom sessions run smoothly.

Before training:

• Test your set-up using a ‘test virtual classroom’
• Talk to our support team to troubleshoot issues and answer questions

During the training:

• Your dedicated support trainer will be available all day to assist alongside the lead trainer in the virtual classrooms
• This includes answering questions in the chat window and even stepping in if there are technical issues

After the training:

Attendance to a virtual classroom session gives you access to:

• The course manual and any post-course exercises
• STL blog and video library, crammed full of productivity tips and tricks direct from our training team
• STL delegate support forum, where you can post a question and one of our trainers will respond within approx. 24 hours

How do I find out more?

If you like what you hear, take a look at our course catalogue and speak to one of our Learning Solutions Advisors, who will be able to recommend the right virtual classroom option for you, maybe try out our Virtual Train the Trainer course and discover how you too can deliver great virtual training.

Happy learning!

COVID-19 Update: Virtual/Remote Training = Business as Usual

(Last updated: Tuesday 17th March 2020)

It’s widely understood by our corporate customers that the COVID-19 disruption will last the year and a pragmatic “business as usual” approach is necessary.

Following the global outbreak of COVID-19 in China, STL is continuing to monitor the latest UK public health advice and World Health Organisation (“WHO”) guidelines.

We are more committed than ever to ensuring that all our scheduled events run without disruption (our public schedule courses are never cancelled). You can see live status updates for our courses here.

We strongly urge any booked customers for our public courses to refer to the guidelines and protocols as suggested by the WHO www.who.int and local /national public health authorities to contain and mitigate against any further spread of the virus.

If you have any concerns and are feeling unwell, you may wish to reconsider your attendance of your course. We will continue to operate the most flexible and competitive rescheduling terms in our market.

As a precaution, we are implementing a range of additional hygiene measures at all of our delivery venues.

Please be assured, we are monitoring the situation very closely and will update our response as the situation develops.  If you have any specific questions on a training event, please contact us.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on COVID-19 VISIT www.who.int

FAQ’s:

What measures are you taking during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what should I be aware of when attending a course?

As mentioned above we are running all our pubic scheduled events – You can see live status updates here.

We are in frequent contact with all our staff including our trainers to confirm they don’t have a new, continuous cough or high temperature/fever. We are acting in accordance with Public Health England’s advice to minimise the spread of COVID-19 within our training venues.

We are maintaining high standards of cleanliness across our venues with our professional cleaning partners and in addition we have anti-bacterial products available should you also wish to clean your training area to your own personal standards during your visit.

Virtual learning solutions – we are currently investigating viability of offering virtual delivery formats (onsite/closed company) of several of our training courses. Please note any potential alternative delivery solution will never totally match the “Rolls Royce” experience of instructor led classroom training, but we’ll do our best.

I’m booked to attend a public scheduled course, will it still run?

Yes, we don’t cancel courses and we invest course fees to ensure all courses run during the ongoing disruption. You can see live status updates here.

I’m booked to attend but need to reschedule, what’s the quickest way to do this?

Unique to our industry you can reschedule and pay online, up to 4pm on the very day of the course. It’s common in our industry to lose any rescheduling options if you provide 7 or less days notice.

Can you refund my public schedule training course so I can cancel or reschedule to another date?

Yes! If you provide 17 + days notice, you can cancel or reschedule your course (as many times as you wish within our terms) at no additional cost. With less than 17 days notice, costs will be applied, see full terms  here.

I’m unable to attend my course as I have: COVID-19/ continuous cough or high temperature/fever / have   been asked to self-isolate. What are my options?

Firstly we wish you a speedy recovery! Our reschedule terms do still apply (we have committed and invested to run the course for all attendees, we can’t let them down), however an additional 10% reduction to reschedule fees will be available (this can be applied for card over phone or invoice payments only).

We are looking to book some onsite/closed group training but are mindful of our plans being disrupted by COVID-19.

Most businesses we are in contact with appreciate that COVID-19 related disruption could last the year. It means adjusting to this new reality with a pragmatic business as usual approach.

Based on our current interpretation of UK COVID-19 infection impacts as communicated by UK Government and WHO:

• It is estimated that 20% of workers will be off sick at any one time during outbreak
• For the vast majority of people with COVID-19 the symptoms will be similar to seasonal flu
• It is likely the peak of infection in UK population will be in April to June, rising rapidly, plateauing before dropping off.

Guidelines and considerations:

• Book your training as planned, bear in mind you are free to reschedule with 21 + days notice, so you can review monthly your situation and decide to run the training or reschedule during the period of disruption.
• If you wish to delay booking your training and wait until disruption reduces, just note that demand will accelerate rapidly and priority will be given to customers who have booked. You may well end up waiting a considerable period to have your training delivered.
• Considering 20% of staff may be off, its best to plan for substitutes who can attend the training event. For example you have 10 people attending a course, have 2 people on standby.