20Q: Why are External Trainers Preferred?

Q: Why are companies not training their employees with internal staff?

A: "There are many reasons as to why companies use external staff for training, as was revealed in our State of PM Training research study, But three stand out to me the most:  Instructional expertise, money, and curriculum expertise. 

External trainers bring with them a level of expertise and knowledge in both project management and in the delivery of specialized training that may not be present in the organization to support the training effort.  Inviting external trainers into the organization to train allows individuals to build and grow on their existing knowledge base. 

Money.  It may actually be more expensive for some companies to train internally.  Much depends on the professional development infrastructure that is currently in place for the training and the cost-effectiveness of the training itself.

Curriculum.  The last reason is a fully-developed, specialized, focused, and tested curriculum.  External trainers, like those at PM College, bring with them a curriculum that would take thousands of dollars to develop in-house.  Depending on the size of the audience, developing a specialized training program isn’t always feasible to the organization.  By taking full advantage of the curriculum, it benefits the organization as a whole. 

Each organization has their own reasons for making the decisions they make regarding training.  The most important thing is to ensure that the decision made is for the benefit of the organization and for the benefit of the individual in the training." 

• Crystal L. S. Busch, M.A., Senior Instructional Designer
• Training - General