Anyone who has watched Very British Problems or followed them on Facebook will probably remember the segment on the use of the word ‘sorry’ by us Brits. Seemingly, we can’t get enough of the word and even Adele decided to write a song about it. We use it when we walk into people, and when they walk into us. We apologise for being late, for being on time and for being early. We apologise for the way we look,…
A common sight in training rooms across the lands is the passive objector. This lone creature does not disrupt the session but slowly draws the life and positivity out of the room like a Dementor from Harry Potter. The reasons for objecting can be varied but usually revolve around having been made to do something they don’t want to do. In many cases you find that the objector is either an older or younger member of the team. An older…
You might be surprised to know that 16% of adults in England are classed as ‘functionally illiterate’. This means they have a level of English that is the same or below that of an eleven year old. These adults will struggle to access many jobs and therefore may not be able to reach their full potential. Most of these 5.2 million people will be trying to keep their level of English a secret feeling ashamed of their ability. These…
“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one.” Any Star Trek fans out there will recognise the quote above but you might be wondering what Mr Spock has got to do with learning. I was thinking about the quote in relation to the difficulty of meeting the needs of each person when teaching or training in a group situation. The majority of training or teaching will be geared towards the needs of…
I’m often told by people that they don’t use maths at work, or at home, so they can’t really see the point of having to learn it at school. Whilst there are many aspects of maths that are only used in very specific careers, there are some basics that everyone should master as you never know when you might need them. Finding a percentage discount. This is an important maths skill if you are selling, or buying, a product at…
I’ve jumped on the bandwagon of giving out January advice. There are lots of people making resolutions, or choosing not to make resolutions, and lots of people giving advice about resolutions so I thought I would join in. Now, although I’m not generally a fan of resolutions, I do agree with the idea that the new year can be a good time to start putting in place the changes you want to make. Putting on the advice giving hat, I…
Bespoke packages around English and maths to suit your company’s needs Who is it aimed at? Any employees who want to improve their skills. Reasons for undertaking the courses include: preparing for a skills test/performance test relating to promotion, wanting to get back into education after a long period away, wanting to improve English skills if English is not the first language and a desire to improve skills in general. The courses also aim to meet government targets of increasing…
Improving your confidence when delivering presentations or training The fear of speaking in public is one of the number one phobias. Many professionals need to present to either peers or clients at some point in their career and sometimes the learning is overshadowed by issues caused by lack of confidence and presentation skills. Many people rely on Powerpoint and make that the focus on the presentation rather than thinking about the best way to convey the information they have to…
