Joining Instructions for Training Courses: What to Send, When, and Templates
What training course joining instructions should include, when to send them, how to ask about access needs, and templates for in-person and online courses.
On this page
Joining instructions are the practical details a learner needs to arrive at the right place, at the right time, ready to start. They cover the date and times with the time zone, the venue and room or the joining link, travel and parking, what to bring, any work to do first, and who to call on the day. Send them with the booking confirmation, repeat the essentials in every reminder, and keep the same details on the learner’s booking page, so nobody has to search their inbox on the morning of the course.
Key takeaways
- Put the date, start time, place and contact number at the top. Everything else comes after.
- Send them at booking, then repeat the essentials a week before, the day before, and on the morning for online and early-start courses.
- Keep details that change by date, such as the room or the joining link, on the date itself, so each group gets its own.
- Ask about access needs before the day, with one question and a named contact, and limit who can see the answers.
- When something changes, send a short change notice that leads with what changed.
What joining instructions are
Joining instructions are the message a training provider sends between the booking and the course. The confirmation says the place is booked; the joining instructions say how to get there, when to arrive and what to bring. For a live online course, they replace the travel details with the joining link and a short technical check.
They usually go to two people. The learner needs the practical details. The person who booked, often a manager or an HR or L&D coordinator booking several staff, needs to know the details have reached each learner. Collect each learner’s name and email at booking, or soon after, so the instructions go to the person who will attend.
What to include
| Item | In person | Live online |
|---|---|---|
| Course and date | Course name, weekday and date, start and finish times | The same, plus the time zone |
| Where | Venue name, full address and postcode, room or floor, entrance to use | The joining link, and the video tool it uses |
| Getting there | Parking, public transport, a map link | Device, browser, headset and a quiet room |
| Arrival | When to arrive and where to sign in | When the call opens, so there is time to test sound and camera |
| What to bring | Photo ID if needed, glasses, pen, any equipment or clothing | Anything to print or have open |
| Before the day | Pre-course work or reading, and when it is due | The same |
| On the day | Breaks, lunch, finish time, what to wear for practical work | Breaks, camera expectations, when people can step away |
| Access needs | One question and a named contact | The same, including captions |
| Contact | A phone number answered on the day | The same, plus what to do if the link fails |
| Your terms | A link to the transfer and cancellation terms | The same |
Leave out what does not apply. A short message with the right ten lines beats a three-page document that buries the start time.
When to send them
- 1At booking
The full joining instructions, with the booking confirmation.
- 2A week before
The essentials again: date, time, place or link, pre-course work and its due date, and a link to change the booking.
- 3The day before
Date, start time, place or link, and the number to call on the day.
- 4The morning, or an hour before
For online and early-start courses: the link or the room, and nothing else.
- 5After any change
A change notice that leads with what changed.
Reminders also cut no-shows, and a reminder that carries the joining details does both jobs. How to Reduce Training Course No-Shows covers the evidence on timing and channel.
Write them so people use them
Lead with what people check on the day. The date, start time, place and phone number go first, in that order. People open joining instructions twice: once to plan, and once on the morning, in a hurry, on a phone.
Say what the day looks like. A short outline of the day, who will meet them, and when the breaks and lunch are. People coming back to a classroom after years away, or attending a practical course for the first time, want to know what they are walking into, and a few lines here can save them a phone call.
Write dates that cannot be misread. Use the weekday, the date with the month in words, and the time, such as “Tuesday, March 9, 9:30 AM”. For anyone outside your own country, add the time zone, such as “9:30 AM London time (GMT)”. Live Online Training covers the weeks when clocks change on different dates.
Put the instructions in the email body. An attachment is easy to miss on a phone. Attach the venue map or pre-course pack as extras.
Keep one version per date. When a course runs in different rooms, venues or links, the details belong to each date, so a learner on the Leeds date never receives the Doncaster parking notes.
Keep the same details on the booking page. A learner who deletes the email should still find the room, the link and the start time where they booked.
Access needs and personal information
Ask about access needs before the day, once, in plain words: “Is there anything we should arrange so you can take part fully, such as step-free access, a hearing loop, large-print materials or extra time?” Name the person who will reply, and give a deadline that leaves time to arrange it.
The law expects this in many countries. In Great Britain, section 20 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out three requirements for a service provider: adjusting a “provision, criterion or practice” that puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage, dealing with physical features, and providing auxiliary aids. The same section says a provider is not entitled to require the disabled person to pay its costs of complying. Elsewhere, check the disability rules that apply where you train.
Be careful with what comes back. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office lists “data concerning health” as special category data, which needs a separate condition for processing under UK GDPR. Ask only what you need to arrange the adjustment, keep the answers out of shared spreadsheets and group emails, and give access to the people who arrange it and the trainer who needs to know.
Templates
Adapt these to your courses. Each one leads with what people check on the day.
In person
Emergency First Aid at Work: Wednesday, September 30, 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM
[Venue name], Room 2 (first floor), [address and postcode]. Use the main reception entrance. On the day, call [phone number].
Please arrive by 8:45 to sign in, and bring photo ID. Wear comfortable clothes, as you’ll practice CPR on the floor. Lunch is provided; tell us about any dietary needs.
Free parking behind the building. [Nearest station] is a 10-minute walk.
If there is anything we should arrange so you can take part fully, reply to this email by September 23.
To change your date, use the link in your booking. Our transfer and cancellation terms are here: [link].
Live online
Presentation Skills (live online): Wednesday, October 14, 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM London time (BST)
Join here: [your joining link]. The call opens at 9:15 so you can check your sound and camera.
You’ll need a laptop with a camera and microphone, a headset if you have one, and a quiet room. Cameras on for discussion and practice, optional while the trainer presents.
Before the session: prepare a two-minute talk on any work topic. If the link doesn’t work on the day, call [phone number].
Blended
Emergency First Aid at Work (blended): online lessons due Tuesday, September 29; practical on Wednesday, September 30, 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Your online lessons are in your account now and take about three hours. Finish them by Tuesday, including the quiz at the end of each section; the practical builds on them.
The practical is at [venue name], Room 2 (first floor), [address and postcode]. Arrive by 8:45 with photo ID, in clothes you can kneel in.
When something changes
Send a separate message, with the change in the subject line and the first sentence, such as “Room change for Emergency First Aid on Wednesday, September 30: now Room 4”. Then repeat the full details, so the latest message is the only one anyone needs. If a date is canceled or moved, Run or Cancel? covers what to offer and an example message.
Where Cademy fits
In Cademy, joining instructions come from the course, the venue and the date, and every confirmation, reminder and booking page uses the same details.
Details on each date
Each course date has its own Description, shown to learners under their date. Email templates can insert it, so the room number, arrival instructions or joining details for one date reach everyone booked on it, while a learner on another date gets that date’s details. Saved venues carry a public note for arrival information, such as parking or the entrance to use, typed once and used on every date at that venue.
Sent at the right times
The booking confirmation can carry the joining instructions, and each course can send reminders a week before, the day before and an hour before, plus a follow-up the day after. For online dates, Cademy can create the Zoom meeting with the date, and the reminder template can include its joining link.
The same details in the learner’s account
The learner’s course page shows the session dates and times, the venue address with its parking and entrance notes, and the joining link, with an option to add the sessions to their calendar. Course Welcome Content adds what to bring and files such as a welcome pack, on the learner’s private course page. Trainers get an email and a calendar invite when they are assigned to a date.
To try it, start for free and set up one course with its joining details, or book a call to see it with your own courses.
Frequently asked questions
What are joining instructions for a training course? The practical details a learner needs to attend: the date and times, the venue and room or the joining link, travel and parking, what to bring, pre-course work, access arrangements and a contact number for the day.
When should joining instructions be sent? With the booking confirmation, then again in shorter reminders a week before and the day before the course. For online and early-start courses, send the link or room on the morning too.
What should joining instructions for an online course include? The date and times with the time zone, the joining link and the video tool it uses, when the call opens, the equipment needed, any pre-course work, the camera policy, and what to do if the link fails.
Should joining instructions be an email or an attachment? Put them in the email body, where they can be read on a phone, and keep the same details on the learner’s booking page. Attach extras such as a venue map or a pre-course pack.
How do you ask about access needs? With one plain question before the day, a named person who will reply, and a deadline that leaves time to arrange things. Ask only what you need, and limit who can see the answers, since health information is sensitive personal data.
Who should receive joining instructions when an employer books? Each learner who will attend, plus a copy or summary for the person who booked. Collect learner names and emails at booking or soon after.
Sources
Checked November 6, 2026 on the publishers’ own pages.