Personal Development Courses

Overview: This hands-on workshop provides an in-depth understanding of user stories within an Agile context through both knowledge sharing and practical exercises. We will explore the lifecycle of a story from how it is created to how we know it is ‘done’. It is aimed at those with or without prior knowledge and/or experience of Agile.

You will leave the session with the tools you need to create refine and manage excellent appropriate user stories and use them effectively.

This workshop is highly interactive and we actively encourage participants to bring along ‘troubled’ stories they may have so that they can be discussed and improved.

Overview: Agile has caught the attention of business leaders in the UK and globally as a means of managing change, reducing time to market, eliminating waste and attracting and retaining customers. The question is - what is Agile Project Management and how does it differ from traditional waterfall? What are the roles, skills and competencies required?

This two-day foundation certificate course is concerned with the use of Agile practices in projects, product and software development.

The course is designed to ensure the delegate has suitable knowledge of the core concepts of Agile practices, the Agile values and principles, across a breadth of Agile methodologies. It is not aimed at preparing delegates to implement a specific Agile approach.

Overview: This 2 day course is designed to equip delegates with the knowledge and practical skills to either implement or enhance an existing Quality Management System (QMS). Discover the actions, tools and techniques required to implement or improve a QMS including procedural and process information.

Overview: This two-day IEMA certified Environmental Sustainability Skills for Managers is designed to provide supervisors and managers with a strategic and operational overview of environmental sustainability as it affects their specific industry and work area.

This course is invaluable in giving managers at all levels the confidence to get involved in, and fully engage in your organisation’s environmental sustainability challenges.

Topics covered include:
The understanding of the strategic opportunities and constraints that environmental sustainability presents organisations;
The importance of resource efficiency; the impact of environmental sustainability across the value chain;
The impacts of pollution, prevention, control and environmental legislation in organisations;
How employees support environmental sustainability.

Overview: The IEMA Environmental Sustainability Skills for the Workforce course is a one-day awareness course developed to upskill all workers with an elemental understanding of environmental sustainability principles. Relevant to any job role across all sectors this course will help to embed environmental cultural change into an organisation.

Those businesses seeking to refresh environmental management within their business and looking for true value from ISO 14001, achieve their environmental goals and actively change their culture will value the support this course delivers.

The course covers the main environmental risks and opportunities facing organisations; the importance of resource efficiency; the impacts of pollution, prevention, control and legislation; the impact of transport; and knowing how employees can support environmental sustainability.

Overview: The new course covers changes introduced to Food Labelling requirements by the 2011 European Directive on the provision of food information. It explains the transitional arrangements on the new rules. These new requirements will have a major impact upon the information provided on food labels for consumers. The course is designed to provide candidates with the knowledge of the changes to help food manufacturers prepare for and comply with the law.

Overview: This integrated management systems internal auditor programme combines the disciplines of quality, environmental and health and safety management auditing based on the ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 standards.

This three-day interactive training programme is designed for those who need to be able to understand and apply recognised principles and techniques of effective management system auditing to quality, environmental and health and safety management systems. The modern management systems auditor cannot rely on procedural auditing, but also needs to be able to audit processes with an emphasis on risk-based thinking. An effective audit will bring benefits to your organisation and ensure the integrated management system (IMS) continues to meet its objectives.

Internal auditors need to understand their role and responsibilities and be sufficiently competent in evaluating the IMS effectively. This course focuses delegates on the most important attributes of an IMS and helps them to understand the role of the auditor in its development and continual improvement.

Overview: Based on the leading global food safety standard, this highly interactive two-day training programme is designed for those people who require a sound understanding of the techniques and principles of food safety auditing. It also covers the role of the food safety auditor in the development and improvement of an effective food safety management system.

This course is essential for those who will undertake internal food safety audits, or who will be required to plan, manage and implement internal audit programmes.

This is a CQI and IRCA Certified training course.

Overview: This course provides comprehensive first-level training for anyone involved in software testing. It is accredited by the ISTQB and follows the CTFL 2018 syllabus specified by the International Software Testing Qualification Board (ISTQB).

The course covers the fundamentals of testing: definitions of testing standards, planning, managing the lifecycle, reviews and the tools available. Techniques for creating tests are described and practised. It culminates in a one-hour multiple choice examination for the Foundation Certificate in Software Testing. Successful delegates will also gain the ISTQB Certified Tester - Foundation Level, a globally recognised qualification.

Overview: This modular programme is designed to further develop the skills of managers and potential managers. Building leadership capabilities across this level should not only strengthen individual skills but also facilitate the transfer of best practice across the organisation.

Between each workshop delegates will be given work assignments to reinforce and embed the skills learned at each workshop. Recognising the busy nature of the delegates role, the design of these assignments will be thought provoking and practical rather than time consuming.

Each module comes with its own set of support notes for delegates to put into a ring-binder, which then builds up into a comprehensive management reference book.

This highly interactive and practical programme will give delegates an opportunity to learn more about themselves and the different working styles of others to increase individual and team effectiveness. They will be working as individuals, in pairs or small groups, engaging with each other to explore the different approaches. Building a team successfully requires awareness and understanding of the needs for a balanced team. This programme has been designed to give delegates both insight and time to explore their personal preferences, highlighting the benefits of getting the correct balance between both managing the task and leading the team.

CLARITY 4D PROFILES

As an optional extra, each delegate will receive either an 11 page Clarity4D Personal Profile or a 20 page Team Profile (recommended). The Profile provides delegates with information on their personality type as an aid to understand more about self and others, which can then be used to identify strategies for enhancing interpersonal relationships and improving communications within the team.

The Profile includes sections on:
Personal style and interacting with others
Personal strengths and areas of hidden potential
Value to the Team
Effective Communication

The Profile will be used as a working document throughout the programme as a basis for self-analysis and group discussions. Delegates may then go on to use it as a personal development coaching tool.

Overview: Lean Six Sigma is a pragmatic approach that emphasises the importance of focusing on delivering what the customer wants by utilising the skills and knowledge of the employees.

Improvement projects aim to reduce the cost of poor quality, increase process capability, minimise process cycle time and remove waste to deliver what the customer wants, ultimately resulting in increased customer satisfaction.

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Practitioner provides the skills necessary to successfully complete DMAIC projects, including basic knowledge of planning, team problem-solving methods and improvement strategies.

The training combines lectures with interactive group exercises and hands-on work using examples related primarily to the services industry.

Please note: This course includes a refresher of the content encountered in the Yellow Belt course. It is therefore recommended that delegates who have attended the Yellow Belt course gain several months of practical experience before returning to complete this course.

Overview: The purpose of this highly interactive, practical and fun team development event is for team members to learn more about themselves and the different working styles of others.

Personal effectiveness and communication skills influence both style and behaviour, which has important implications for the development and performance of teams. Further development in these skills will have an impact on many areas of day-to-day work e.g. meetings, problem solving; time-management; decision-making and all aspects of communication.

Delegates will have an opportunity to focus on their own personal effectiveness and style and through this, further develop their interpersonal skills.

Each delegate will receive a personal profile, which provides them with information on their personality type, as an aid to understand more about self and others. This will then be used to identify strategies for enhancing working relationships to maximise team performance.

The Profile will be used as a working document throughout the programme as a basis for self-analysis and group discussions.

Overview: This intensive one-day course is designed to equip delegates with an appreciation and understanding of the legislative structure across the UK, key areas of environmental legislation and regulations and how these are typically enforced.

No company or organisation can afford to neglect the law, but many companies still do not realise the full extent of their obligations under environmental legislation. Lack of knowledge is no protection for either a company or an individual. This course is essential for those companies who are in the process of setting up an ISO 14001 or EMAS certified environmental management system and needing to build a Legal Register and need some guidance.