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How do you spot a bad training seminars?

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by mc_user

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Recently I got an e-mail on a five day seminar for training on procedures for the structured testing of software. A subject I am interested in.
The class sylabus on the web site looks good, but something in the back of my mind is saying, "This is a waste of time!" Maybe it is the fact that it is a traveling seminar that is booked in a different city every month for the year. Maybe I am completely wrong. But I don't want to invest a lot of time and limited training funds in a dud.

Does anyone have a rule of thumb that they use to help gauge the quality of a training seminar? Any little detail that sends up a red flag with you?

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by timwalsh

Check out the company offering the seminar.

The mere fact that they give seminars in different cities would not , in and of itself, send up an immediate red flag in my mind.

How long have they been in business?
What are the qualifications of the people actually giving the seminar?

Ask for references, preferably from people attending the same seminar. If they've been in your town before, ask for local references.

It is the presenter that can make or break a seminar. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to judge the true "quality" of a seminar beforehand, just as it is almost impossible to judge the quality of a class before signing up for it, unless someone else has previously experienced the particular instructor giving the seminar/class.

As I'm sure you've experienced before, having thorough knowledge of a subject, and being able to present the material in a manner that will keep attendees interested and involved, don't necessarily go hand in hand.

Sometimes you just have to take your chances.

by dcox

If the training company has a good reputation, the fact that the seminar is going to several cities only means the company feels it has something valuable to say that people will want to pay for, and the audience is too narrow to make a profit in one city.
What you need to do is find out more about the company (and its competitors), the presenter(s), and the material they cover.

by urnotready

I have yet to go to a seminar that gave me more information that I got reading a white paper on the subject.

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