1300 BA courses in Cardiff

What do engineers and project managers need to know of finance? 'Nothing - leave it to the accountants!' No, no, no! Engineers must be conversant with the terminology and statements that accountants use. Technical expertise in projects, service delivery, production or other areas can only really be harnessed if the managers understand the accounting and reporting that drives businesses. This course gives the necessary understanding to project, production and technical managers. It develops their skills in understanding financial and management accounting. Accountants may not always like it but a major part of their work is to be the 'servants of business' and to gather, compile and present your figures. So you must understand the figures - they belong to you, your processes or projects. There are many reasons for maintaining accurate accounts. This course focuses on the strategic issues (those over-used words) - what figures reveal about the drivers of business and what they reveal about the day-to-day issues that accountants bother you with. The course will enhance your understanding of finance and of the accounting issues which affect your projects, production and technical areas of business. This course will help you: Understand the business world in figures - make sense of what the accountants are telling you Appreciate what drives business - and how this affects your role in your part of the business Relate your activities to the success of the business - through figures Gain the skills to advance in management - financial awareness is a 'must have' if you are to progress in your career 1 What do accountants do? The finance function, types of accountant, financial v management accounting and the treasury function Understanding the role of the finance function and how the information you provide may be used 2 The basic financial statements Balance sheets and income statements (P&L accounts) What they are, what they contain and above all what they can reveal - how to read them The accounting process - from transactions to financial statements What underpins the statements - accounting systems and internal controls 3 Why be in business - from a financial perspective The driving forces behind financial information Performance measures - profitability, asset utilisation, sales and throughput, managing capital expenditure 4 Accounting rules - accounting standards Accounting concepts and the accounting rules: accruals, 'going concern' - substance over form and other 'desirable qualities' Accruals - why the timing of a transaction is so important to the finance function Depreciation and amortisation - the concepts and practice Accounting standards - the role of International Financial Reporting Standards 5 Cash The importance of cash flow - working capital management Cash flow statements - monitoring overall cash flows Raising cash - levels of borrowing, gearing Spending cash - an outline of capital expenditure appraisal 6 Budgeting Why budget? - good and bad practice Determining why budgets play a key role and should not be simply an annual ritual Justifying your budgets - the link between the strategic plan and day-to-day budgeting - alignment of company culture Budgets as motivators - the importance of the right culture Techniques to improve budgeting - whether day-to-day or capital budgeting 7 Costing The type and detail of costing very much depends on your business - eg, manufacturing piston rings is quite different from the construction of a power plant Issues with overhead allocation Accounting for R&D 8 Reading financial statements Annual financial statements - why they are produced, what's in them and what you should look for Learning what a set of accounts reveals about a company's current situation, profitability and future prospects 9 Performance measurement - analytical reviews and ratio analysis ROI/ROCE Profitability, margins and cost control Sales - asset turnover Efficiency (asset / stock turnover, debtor / creditor days) 'City' measures Investment (interest / dividend cover, earnings per share, dividend yield)

This is not a single course but a set of menu options from which you can 'pick and mix' to create a draft programme yourself, as a discussion document which we can then fine-tune with you. For a day's training course, simply consider your objectives, select six hours' worth of modules and let us do the fine-tuning so that you get the best possible training result. Consider your objectives carefully for maximum benefit from the course. Is the training for new or experienced credit control staff? Are there specific issues to be addressed within your particular sector (eg, housing, education, utilities, etc)? Do your staff need to know more about the legal issues? Or would a practical demonstration of effective telephone tactics be more useful to them? Menu Rather than a generic course outline, the expert trainer has prepared a training 'menu' from which you can select those topics of most relevance to your organisation. We can then work with you to tailor a programme that will meet your specific objectives. Advanced credit control skills for supervisors - 1⁄2 day Basic legal overview: do's and don'ts of debt recovery - 2 hours Body language in the credit and debt sphere - 1⁄2 day County Court suing and enforcement - 1⁄2 day Credit checking and assessment - 1 hour Customer visits and 'face to face' debt recovery skills - 1⁄2 day Data Protection Act explained - 1⁄2 day Dealing with 'Caring Agencies' and third parties - 1 hour Debt counselling skills - 2 hours Elementary credit control skills for new staff - 1⁄2 day Granting credit and collecting debt in Europe - 1⁄2 day Identifying debtors by 'type' to handle them accurately - 1 hour Insolvency: Understanding bankruptcy / receivership / administration / winding-up / liquidation / CVAs and IVAs - 2 hours Late Payment of Commercial Debts Interest Act explained - 2 hours Liaison with sales and other departments for maximum credit effectiveness - 1 hour Suing in Scottish Courts (Small Claims and Summary Cause) - 1⁄2 day Telephone techniques for successful debt collection - 11⁄2 hours Terms and conditions of business with regard to credit and debt - 2 hours Tracing 'gone away' debtors (both corporate and individual) - 11⁄2 hours What to do if you/your organisation are sued - 1⁄2 day Other topics you might wish to consider could include: Assessment of new customers as debtor risks Attachment of Earnings Orders Bailiffs and how to make them work for you Benefit overpayments and how to recover them Cash flow problems (business) Charging Orders over property/assets Credit policy: how to write one Council and Local Authority debt recovery Consumer Credit Act debt issues Using debt collection agencies Director's or personal guarantees Domestic debt collection by telephone Exports (world-wide) and payment for Emergency debt recovery measures Education Sector debt recovery Forms used in credit control Factoring of sales invoices Finance Sector debt recovery needs Third Party Debt Orders (Enforcement) Government departments (collection from) Harassment (what it is - and what it is not) Health sector debt recovery skills Hardship (members of the public) Insolvency and the Insolvency Act In-house collection agency (how to set up) Instalments: getting offers which are kept Judgment (explanation of types) Keeping customers while collecting the debt Late payment penalties and sanctions Letter writing for debt recovery Major companies as debtors Members of the public as debtors Monitoring of major debtors and risks Negotiation skills for debt recovery Old debts and how to collect them Out of hours telephone calls and visits Office of Fair Trading and collections Oral Examination (Enforcement) Pro-active telephone collection Parents of young debtors Partnerships as debtors Positive language in debt recovery Pre-litigation checking skills Power listening skills Questions to solicit information Retention of title and 'Romalpa' clauses Sale of Goods Act explained Salesmen and debt recovery Sheriffs to enforce your judgment Students as debtors Statutory demands for payment Small companies (collection from) Sundry debts (collection of) Terms and Conditions of Contract Tracing 'gone away' debtors The telephone bureau and credit control Taking away reasons not to pay Train the trainer skills Utility collection needs Visits for collection and recovery Warrant of execution (enforcement)

The CIEH Introductory Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety provides an awareness of key health and safety issues, and the part that staff should play in keeping themselves and others free from harm at work. This course will give you a basic background in, and understanding of, general health and safety practices and the control measures required to reduce risks in the workplace.

If you're looking for a short, sharp high-impact intervention that will help motivate and inspire your sales team then a 'bite-sized' session could be just what you're looking for. We have a range of sessions that can be delivered on an 'off-the-shelf' basis, or they can be tailored to your specific requirements or, of course, we can develop something specifically for you on an entirely bespoke basis. And the length of the session is entirely up to you - 45-minutes, an hour, a half-day - whatever you prefer. Sessions can be run for small groups as part of your regular team meetings or they can be delivered for larger audiences, conference-style - the choice is yours. The session outlines below are just to give you an idea of the possibilities. If one of them whets your appetite please just give us a call on 01582 463463 to talk through what we can do for you - we're here to help!

This workshop-based bite-size will provide space to explore some practical tools and ideas on how to be more resilient when faced with challenging and tough situations. There is an opportunity to do a self assessment and bring it to the day as a means to identify areas to work on and begin to master skills that will enhance resilient thinking. There will be time to explore what resilience is and understand the range of practical tools and techniques available that can be used beyond the workshop itself. By the end of the workshop participants will be able to: Discuss and evaluate their personal strengths and areas for development in being more resilient at work Understand what resilience involves and how to identify and challenge their own beliefs that undermine resilience Understand the four aspects of resilience - confidence, adaptability, building support and maintaining a clear perspective Understand how to use resiliency tools to help to cope better with the challenge of change Review and evaluate their learning and have an action plan to take back and implement in the workplace 1 Welcome, introductions and objectives Breaking the ice 2 Identifying current challenges in relation to work How we handle these challenges 3 Defining resilience and how and why it helps our personal effectiveness and thinking 4 Resilience skills and how to develop them 5 Learning a resilience tool that promotes new ways of thinking / working 6 Review and evaluation of learning Action planning

Agility has become a prized business attribute. Although Agile methods were once most associated with software development, they are now applied in a host of different areas. Agile continues to find new applications because it is primarily an attitude. This programme delivers a solid grounding in both the Agile mindset and Agile methods. It covers three methods, illustrates the benefits of each and shows how they can be integrated. It includes practical techniques as well as background knowledge. By the end of the session, participants will be able to: Apply Agile concepts to self-manage their work Understand the roles people take on in Agile teams Use a variety of techniques to help deliver customer satisfaction Focus on delivering against priorities Employ a range of estimating techniques 1 Introduction Overview of the programme Review of participants' needs and objectives 2 The basics of Agile What makes Agile different Agile Manifesto and Principles Using feedback to deliver what is needed 3 Agile teams Multi-disciplinary teams Team size and empowerment Agile values 4 Agile at the team level - Scrum Scrum roles Scrum 'events' Scrum 'artifacts' 5 Agile for teams juggling multiple demands - Kanban Taking control of the work Improving throughput Dealing with bottlenecks 6 Agile in projects - AgilePM The phases of an Agile project Managing change requests Delivering on time 7 Estimating T-shirt / Pebble sizing Yesterday's weather Planning poker 8 Pick 'n' mix - some useful techniques The daily stand-up User stories Retrospectives Work-in-process limits Burndown charts Minimum viable product A / B testing 9 Review and action planning Identify actions to be implemented individually Conclusion

This training day will help managers explore what they need to do to create a motivating environment at work and learn some theory, tools and ideas to inspire motivation at individual and team level. Motivation is a key factor in effective people management and successful team performance. It involves engaging and inspiring your people and developing them in such ways as to improve their effectiveness and thus have a greater benefit to customers. It can also involve having tough conversations with those who do not seem to be motivated. By the end of the workshop participants will be able to: Identify key motivating factors at work and learn and create ideas to better engage staff Learn a conversation tool to use for challenging discussions Explain their role in motivating staff and understand a range of techniques and approaches to use in the workplace Review learning and have an action plan to take back and implement at work 1 Welcome, housekeeping, objectives Breaking the ice Setting personal objectives 2 Group work: identifying personal motivators and where they come from 3 Defining motivation The characteristics of a motivated team Input and group discussion 4 Factors impacting on motivation at work Using pre-work to identify challenges, hotspots and obstacles Feedback in plenary Exploring the benefits of motivation that address current challenges and agreeing outcomes for change 5 Commitment vs. compliance - organisational engagement and the manager's approach to buy in 6 Team challenge task using a theory about motivation Trainer input and review in plenary 7 Group task - complete a plan for individuals identified in pre-workshop task 8 Skill / will - a motivation tool: trainer input, followed by tasks that are assessed and discussed in peer groups 1-2-1 feedback task on approaches and plans to be taken back and used at work Feedback and plenary review 9 DEAL - a conversation tool: how to construct a conversation plan about motivation with an individual Peer professional 1-2-1s to practice the discussion planned and gain feedback 10 Review, evaluation and action planning

The aim of this course is to expose the commercial context within which technical work is carried out. It is to allow technical staff to understand how they fit into a larger picture, why they may be asked to undertake tasks that may not appear to be technical and the impact their interactions have within the commercial context. The scope of the programme includes: The course emphasises the collaborative nature of delivery and the need to offer value to customers. The principal training objectives for this programme are to help participants: Understand why technical roles are broader than we might assume Appreciate the importance of, and the need to support, sales Value the idea of 'Good Enough' Recognise what can affect profitability Realise the future needs protecting 1 Introduction (Course sponsor) Why this programme has been developed Review of participants' needs and objectives 2 That's not my job! How we see our own role in work How other people see our role Stakeholders: who are they and why do they matter? The organisational backdrop What is my role really? 3 Sales and marketing Where does the money come from? Where do we find customers? The sales process One-off sales versus repeat business Customer/supplier relationships What something costs versus what the customer will pay The value chain 4 Estimating Purpose of estimates The problem with precision Five estimating techniques 5 Change control Can you just do this for me? When being helpful leads to bankruptcy How to deal with change requests 6 Risk management Risk in projects Risk in operations Categories of risk 7 The value of intellectual property Issues with sharing information Commercial in confidence Non-disclosure agreements 8 Course review and action planning (Course sponsor present) Identify actions to be implemented individually What actions should be implemented to improve working with non-technical people? Conclusion

This one-day introduction workshop is intended for users who need to get to grips with the essentials of Microsoft Outlook. It will provide you with the basic skills you need to effectively start using Outlook to manage your emails, calendar, contacts, tasks and notes. This course will help participants: Send messages with added email options applied Quickly file messages away for safe keeping Manage messages and attachments Organise calendar meetings and check other people's schedules Respond to a meeting request Create a contacts list Manage daily tasks Use reading and folder panes Create and manage folders Use auto reply Use notes Utilise Outlook's printing functionality 1 Getting started Using the reading pane Using the folder pane Changing inbox views Managing the to-do bar 2 Emailing messages Replying to and forwarding messages Adding message options Attaching files to an email message Opening and saving attachments 3 Outlook folders Creating and managing folders Moving messages into folders Adding folders to favourites Using search folder Always moving messages in conversation Automatically move messages with rules 4 Managing messages Using instant search Finding messages by criteria Grouping and sorting messages Categorising messages Adding message follow up flags Filtering messages with the people pane 5 Using auto reply Replying to messages whilst you are away Managing auto reply settings Applying rules to auto reply 6 Outlook calendars Adding and editing appointments Adding calendar reminders Moving and copying appointments Creating all day events Recurring appointments Sharing your calendar Opening another user's calendar 7 Planning a meeting Arranging meetings Inviting attendees to meetings Responding to meeting invites 8 Outlook contacts Creating and editing a contact Saving emails as contacts Finding contacts Sending messages to contacts Creating contact groups 9 Adding tasks Creating and editing tasks Completing tasks Assigning a task to another user Responding to a task request 10 Notes Creating and editing tasks Emailing notes Sticking notes on your desktop 11 Printing Printing messages Printing calendars Printing contacts

Mental Health First Aid (MHFAider) is an internationally recognised training course that teaches people how to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill health and provide help on a first aid basis. We don't teach people to be therapists, but we do teach people how to respond in a crisis, and how to reach out before a crisis happens. The training gives people tools to support themselves and each other, so everyone can talk about mental health and seek help when needed. As an MHFAider you will be able to: Recognise those that may be experiencing poor mental health and provide them with first-level support and early intervention Encourage a person to identify and access sources of professional help and other support Practise active listening and empathy Have a conversation with improved mental health literacy around language and stigma Discuss the role in depth, including boundaries and confidentiality Practise self-care This course is ideal for those who would like to become an MHFAider to: Gain the knowledge and skills to spot signs of people experiencing poor mental health Be confident starting a conversation and signpost a person to appropriate support Alongside the best evidence-based Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training, MHFAiders are also provided with three-year access to ongoing learning and support through the MHFAider Support App 1 Introduction to MHFAider (3 hours 30 mins) MHFA and the MHFAider role Introduction to the MHFAider Action Plan 'ALGEE' What is Mental Health? Helpful and unhelpful language Undersign our Frame of Reference, understanding how we make sense of the world Understanding stress & the Stress Container 2 Understanding Mental Health (4 hours) What influences mental health? The Mental Health Continuum What is anxiety? What is a traumatic event? Active listening and empathy What are eating disorders? What is self-harm? What is substance misuse? MHFA conversation practice 3 MHFAider in practice (4 hours) Applying ALGEE What is depression? What is suicide? What is psychosis? MHFA conversation practice 4 Next steps (3 hours) Recovery and lived experience Applying ALGEE Boundaries in the MHFAider role MHFA conversation practice Moving forward in the MHFAider role and your MHFA action plan Self-care