Public vs. Private Training: How Can You Choose? 

In this article, we are going to address a question that we hear from many of our clients.  

Your website says you offer public and private training. What does that mean? Which one do I need for my team? 

So, let's dive in. We will compare public and private training, as well as cover questions you can ask yourself when choosing between the two. If you have any questions after reading this article, we always encourage you to reach out to our team of training coordinators. They have helped countless professionals and organizations across various industries come up with a training solution that fits just right.  

In this article, we’ll discuss: 

• What is public training? 
• What is private training? 
• What are private Upskilling workshops? 
• What are private webinars? 
• How can you choose the best option for your team? 
• The same GREAT experience for your organization either way! 

What Is Public Training?  

Public training refers to our regularly scheduled classes that you can find here.  They cover our standard outline.   

It's very simple - you can find the course that you would like to take, select a session date and register yourself online.  

All of our public courses are live and instructor-led and are taught online using Microsoft Teams. Students are able to ask questions in real time and we keep classes at a manageable size to encourage participation. Teams is the perfect tool to encourage engagement, and our instructors use relevant features such as the chat, emoji reactions, hand raising, and breakout rooms to enhance the session. 

Since we run our virtual classes from our Teams account, we handle setting up and sending out the link. Additionally, that means we can jump in to troubleshoot, as it's our company account.  

Our public courses are guaranteed to run. What does that mean? It means that you can book with confidence because your course will run, even if you are the only person registered!  

Once you complete a public course, you will also have:  

• 30 days of after-training support 
• A certificate of completion 
• A PDF reference guide that covers the topics that you learned 

Finally, our public training is a more cost-effective option for any organization training up to six employees in one course. This means that even small businesses can enjoy the same GREAT training as their larger counterparts.   

It is also an ideal solution for companies training multiple employees (more than six), but they are at different levels and are therefore registering for different courses.  

Consider some examples of organizations that have taken public training:  

• A team of four wants to work more collaboratively using Teams. They register the four individuals in a public session of Microsoft Teams.  
• A team of nine needs Excel training. Three of them are beginners and registered for our public Excel Level 1 course. Four employees are more advanced and registered for our public Excel Level 2 course. The remaining two want to focus on data visualizations and registered for a public session of Mastering Charts and Graphs in Excel. 
• A busy team is unable to find a date to take private training together but needs to attend Time Management That Works. Each team member is encouraged to register for a public session that suits their schedule.   

What Is Private Training?  

Private group training refers to our customized sessions, which are tailored to the specific needs of an individual or a small group. Our trainer will focus on the participants' personalized goals and requirements. Even if you do not opt to customize your training, the fact that it is attended solely by your employees means the content will naturally focus on your needs.  

There is a wide range of customization options available depending on your needs. 

First, we can customize and create a private course that covers only the topics and subject matter that are appropriate for your team. This can range from tweaking our existing outline to creating a completely custom course for our clients. You can even meet with the instructor beforehand to create a custom outline based on what your team needs to learn.   

You have the flexibility to train just your group or company, ensuring the content is finely tuned to meet your specific needs. Additionally, scheduling is entirely convenient for you—whether choosing the optimal date, splitting sessions over two days with half-day options, adjusting for various time zones, or customizing start and end times. You can also customize your outline to fit it into a certain amount of time (e.g., 4 hours instead of our standard 6 hours).   

Additionally, private sessions can be taught online, at your location, or at our training centre located in Downtown Ottawa.   

Finally, instead of using our standard exercise files, you can use your working files. This is an incredible way to customize your training. Not only are you getting a closer look at how your training will connect with your organization's success, but you also have an opportunity to move your projects forward while learning something new. Talk about a win-win! 

In terms of cost, private training is a more cost-effective option for groups of six or more compared to our public training cost. 

What Are Private Upskilling Workshops? 

Our Upskilling workshops are tailored to keep you up to date on Microsoft’s new tools and features.  

These workshops provide practical, hands-on learning opportunities designed to keep you productive and effective in your role. Whether you're looking to master new Excel formulas for data analysis, refine teamwork through Microsoft Teams, or streamline document management with Microsoft Word & PowerPoint, our workshops cater to evolving workplace needs. 

This is not just a dry update of what's changed. We have created fun scenarios so that your upskilling workshop is engaging and something your team will actually enjoy!  

We can provide customized Upskilling workshops, focusing on the programs and features that will benefit your team the most! 

What Are Private Webinars? 

 Since 2020, we have hosted regular webinars on a variety of subjects, from software and professional skills to helping training organizers be more effective in their roles. We’ve even had experts in the field join us and share their knowledge. (If you’d like to see our upcoming webinars, click here. To visit our previous webinar library, click here.)  

Many people like to have a webinar format to teach their employees. In a short amount of time, you can move forward with important skills to make your workday easier.  

After attending our FREE webinars, organizations and associations have reached out to us to create customized webinars that would be presented to their internal teams. For example, you may want to book our webinars as learning events or “Lunch and Learns” for your organization. This is a highly valuable way to train your team for many reasons:  

1. You can ensure your team has regular training. 
2. Rather than spending an entire day, your employees only need to commit to a 1-to-2-hour program. We can also accommodate your team’s needs by hosting various webinars in a day or at the same time.   
3. Instead of recorded training, your team can benefit from our knowledgeable instructors and get their questions answered in real time. You can be confident that our instructors truly understand the content.  
4. We can also include a custom handout for your team to reference after they have attended training. 
5. You can even request the webinar be recorded for participants to rewatch or for participants who have missed the session. 

You may wonder: “What is the difference between a webinar and training?”  

Our training is well-known for being a half or full day of interactive and hands-on learning. On the other hand, our webinars are presentation-style with an opportunity for questions at the end. Webinars can also be a useful tool for informational learning, such as helping your team to appreciate the possibilities of programs like Power BI and Power Automate.  

You can view our recorded FREE webinars here to get a better sense of the format.  

How Can You Choose the Best Option for Your Team?  

Here is a summary of the training options available:  

With so many GREAT choices, it can be hard to choose! Of course, each organization is unique, and we encourage you to reach out to our training coordinators to discuss these choices further. 

However, here are some questions to get you started:  

How Many People Need to Be Trained?  

Larger teams would likely benefit from private training to maximize their learning. However, smaller teams or individuals are better suited for our public training.  

What Is Your Budget?  

Public training is a more cost-effective option. However, that does not mean that our private training comes at a high cost - many of our clients are surprised at how affordable it can be, especially given the level to which we customize their training.  

What Kind of Schedule Makes Sense for Your Environment?  

Some organizations simply cannot balance their operational needs with sending their team to a full-day training session; they need a different schedule. You may also find that your team is located across the country and want to book training that makes sense, given their different time zones.  

The Same GREAT Experience for Your Organization Either Way!  

Regardless of what kind of training you choose for your staff, we are here to save you time and energy. We genuinely want to make the process as straightforward as possible.  

With all of our training, you will receive live, instructor-led sessions that are designed for today's workplace. We are among the top training providers in North America because of our commitment to creating a GREAT Experience. Whether you are taking charge of your own workplace training or are a human resources professional building a training strategy, reach out to our team today to learn more about our GREAT training!