How to get the best out of external courses

Before the recent economic squeeze, no trainer could open his mail or a training journal without encountering advertisements for various kinds of training courses. It may be predicted that, as the squeeze lifts, we shall see more courses coming back on to the market, and the trainer will be in the difficult position of having to recommend courses for people in his organisation, with in many cases little information to go on. The purpose of this article is to give the trainer or manager hints about questions he can ask the course organisers in the attempt to make sure that the right person gets the right kind of external course.