What is corporate training?

Corporate training definition

Corporate training is the process of providing development and learning opportunities to employees within an organisation. Its aim is to enhance skills and knowledge relevant to their individual roles, foster their own development, and help to achieve the wider goals of the organisation.

Corporate training programs can cover a wide range of disciplines - from technical skills and product knowledge, through to soft skills and DEI. They can also be delivered in a variety of different mediums and formats. Classes, e-learning, webinars and on-the-job training all contribute towards corporate training.
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Corporate training examples

What does corporate training look like in the real world? Read on for some examples of how corporate training can be rolled out.

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1. Technical Solutions Inc., a leading software development company, needs to ensure that their workforce is up–to-date on cyber security. Lea, the Chief Information Security Offer, leads a training session. She is accompanied by a seasoned software engineer named John.

The corporate training covers topics ranging from identifying phishing emails, to securing sensitive data in software applications. Lea and John engage the team with interactive exercises and real-world case studies, ensuring everyone understands the importance of cybersecurity within their roles.

By the end of the training, employees feel empowered with new knowledge and skills to protect the company’s digital assets.
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2. Visionary Designs, an architecture firm, uses their Learning Management System to deliver training about LGBTQ+ allyship in the workplace and beyond. They use Pride Month as an opportunity to deliver this campaign, with pathways that employees can complete in their own time.

Modules include “What is Pride?”, “Understanding LGBTQ+ Identities”, “What is Allyship?”, “Recognising and Addressing Bias”, “Supporting LGBTQ+ Employees”, and more. The employees of Visionary Designs complete this elearning within the allotted time, and are more informed as a result.
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Corporate training FAQ's

What is the function of corporate training?

Corporate training has several functions. The first is to develop and nurture individual employees’ skills and areas of interest, and encourage self-development. The second is to help the wider organisation achieve its goals.

How do you make corporate training effective?

How you make corporate training effective is largely the same as how you make any workplace learning effective. “Objectives” and “engagement” should be the name of the game. Keep in mind what you are hoping to achieve with your corporate training, and how to make it as engaging as possible in order to do so. Here are some guidelines:

Identify your objectives: Clearly define your goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s.)

Tailor your training: Based on your goals - both for individual learners and the organisation as a whole - tailor your learning content accordingly. You can customise the materials to match individual roles, skill levels and access needs.

Make your training engaging: In order to make your corporate training engaging (and therefore effective) you can utilise multimodal learning, which is learning that takes the form of multiple different formats. Engage your people in their training with a mix of videos, PDF’s, quizzes and podcasts.

Collect feedback: Build feedback into the process, making sure to regularly collect your learners’ input adjust the training to be as effective as possible.

Provide support to your people: Provide ongoing support, resources, and opportunities for practice to reinforce learning and encourage the application of any new skills or knowledge.

Measure your corporate training’s effectiveness: Going back to the KPI’s you set at the beginning of the process, use these to track the effectiveness of the training.

What is the least effective form of training?

There is no one, single “worst” form of corporate training, but generally speaking the least effective form is considered to be passive learning methods such as traditional lectures or one-way presentations. In these types of training, learners are passively receiving information with no opportunity to engage with or apply the knowledge.

Which training technique is most widely used by organisations?

The most widely used corporate training technique is digital learning or elearning. This method is prevalent and effective because elearning can be accessed by anyone in the team, from wherever they are. It allows for learners to complete the training in their own time and removes the need for in-person facilitators.

Can you use YouTube videos in corporate training?

You can use YouTube videos in corporate training, or any material that supports your points. YouTube is a valuable resource for corporate training, with engaging videos on a range of topics. It’s important to keep in mind the accuracy, quality and relevance of the videos - so always make sure to thoroughly vet them before implementing them into your corporate training.

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