1195 Communication courses in Cardiff delivered Live Online

Course Overview The Teaching Assistant Level 1, 2 & 3 Diploma – CPD Accredited is a comprehensive programme designed to equip learners with the core knowledge and professional understanding required to support teaching and learning across a variety of school environments in the UK. Spanning the foundational to advanced levels, this course explores the structure of the UK education system, school policies, student development, and subject-specific teaching strategies. Whether you're new to the role or aiming to progress in your educational support career, this diploma provides a structured progression through essential modules. Learners will develop a strong grasp of national curriculum requirements, child behaviour, leadership in education, and how to enhance literacy, numeracy, and science understanding in pupils. On successful completion, learners will be well-prepared to pursue a rewarding support role in primary or secondary education, confidently assisting teachers and contributing meaningfully to pupil achievement. Course Description This course delves into the multi-layered responsibilities of a Teaching Assistant, from understanding key educational frameworks to fostering positive learning environments for children of all abilities. The Level 1 content introduces foundational knowledge such as school structures, safeguarding policies, and the TA’s professional role. At Level 2, learners explore core curriculum frameworks including EYFS, SEN support, ICT integration, and phonics. Level 3 builds advanced teaching knowledge, covering literacy and numeracy strategies, curriculum expectations for Key Stages 1 and 2, and leadership communication. Each module is thoughtfully developed to reflect the current educational standards in England, supporting learners in building the theoretical understanding necessary to contribute effectively in a classroom setting. The course is CPD accredited, ensuring that learners benefit from recognised training that aligns with school expectations. Ideal for both aspiring and current teaching assistants, this diploma offers a structured path towards greater responsibility and impact in educational support roles. Course Modules Level 1 Curriculum Module 01: Teaching Assistant Overview Module 02: Professional Developments for a TA Module 03: Working with the School and Its Policies Module 04: Primary Education in the UK Module 05: Providing the Best Learning Environment Module 06: Types of Schools in the UK Module 07: Career Prospects for TAs in the UK Level 2 Curriculum Module 01: Discussion on Curriculum, Assessment and Monitoring Module 02: National Curriculum in England Module 03: Importance of Early Years in Development Module 04: EYFS Teaching Techniques Module 05: Learn to Implement ICT, Literacy and Numeracy Development Processes as a TA Module 06: Teaching Phonics Module 07: Jolly Phonics Module 08: Child Development and the SEN Support Module 09: Understanding Behaviour & Relationships as a TA Module 10: The Skills of Teacher Leadership Module 11: Mentoring as part of effective leadership Level 3 Curriculum Module 01: English Teaching Strategies Module 02: English Requirements at Key Stage 1 Module 03: English Requirements at Key Stage 2 Module 04: Mathematics for Key Stage 1 Module 05: Mathematics for Lower Key Stage 2 Module 06: Teaching Strategies for Mathematics Module 07: Science for Key Stage 1 Module 08: Science for Key Stage 2 Module 09: Science Teaching Strategies Module 10: Geography and History Study Programme Module 11: Registration, Inspection, and Quality Improvement Module 12: Experienced TAs Maintain Strong Communications with the Students (See full curriculum) Who is this course for? Individuals seeking to start a career in educational support. Professionals aiming to formalise their role as a Teaching Assistant. Beginners with an interest in the UK education sector. Parents or carers interested in understanding how schools operate. Volunteers or support staff wanting to take on more responsibility in schools. Career Path Teaching Assistant (Primary or Secondary Education) Learning Support Assistant SEN Teaching Assistant EYFS Support Worker Classroom Support Staff Behaviour Support Assistant Education and Child Development Officer

Helping customers buy products or services from retail organisations such as department stores, garden centres, high street chains, supermarkets and online and mail order businesses.

Our telephone training takes place in your normal working situation, using the actual telephones and software, and the programming software clients that trainees will use when fully trained. Our trainers will travel anywhere in the world to train you face to face, or if you prefer, we can offer our whole training catalogue remotely using Teams or Zoom. On-site and live remote telecoms training sessions have a general reputation as most effective for trainees to continue to efficiently carry out their telecoms usage, programming and own in-house training of future new employees. On-site training involves employees training at their place of work while they are doing their actual job, or in pre-organised classroom training sessions, based around hands-on interaction, trainer Q&A and all carried out using your own site telephone system. Our telephone trainers also offer consultations on your new or current telephone systems: looking into how you currently use your system, making suggestions on how programming could be tweaked and changed to improve your current usage, how to improve on call handling methods, and informing you of additional products which may be available on your system that you may not be aware of. This could help improve the level of communication across your company and interactions with your customers. We believe telephone handset and voicemail training sessions are essential to the smooth and efficient running of your company, making sure your staff are aware of all the features and benefits that the telephone handsets can offer, and ensuring calls are dealt with quickly and effectively. System administration training is available to teach new administrators how to manage and control a variety of system features. This type of training is especially important when new administrators have little or no previous telecom knowledge or experience, but it is equally important at all levels to ensure the new system is utilised to its maximum capability. Administration days or Call Centre Software training days take one full day to complete. Full Day Example: 9:30 - 16:00 Day Structure  09:30 - 10:45 Handset & VM session for up to 8 people 10:45 - 12:00 Handset & VM session for up to 8 people 12:00 - 12:45 Lunch  12:45 - 14:00 Handset & VM session for up to 8 people 14:00 - 15:15 Handset & VM session for up to 8 people 15:15 - 16:30 Handset & VM session for up to 8 people Half Day Example: 9:30 - 13:00 Switchboard training takes half a day (3-4 hours for up to 3 people). If you want to train more than 3 people, you may need to extend the day to a full day, to ensure everyone gets to have hands-on training on the switchboard. Super Users and Train the Trainer Sessions Super User sessions can also be organised to show advanced system features in order to provide an ongoing training service to their colleagues, once the trainers have left the site.

Touch Typing Essentials Course Overview The "Touch Typing Essentials" course is designed to help learners develop efficient and accurate typing skills. Covering all aspects of typing from basic finger positioning to typing punctuation and capital letters, this course is perfect for those who want to improve their typing speed and accuracy. Learners will gain a solid foundation in touch typing, enabling them to type confidently without looking at the keyboard. Whether you're a student, a professional, or anyone looking to improve your typing ability, this course will equip you with the skills necessary to type efficiently, leading to increased productivity and confidence in digital communication. Course Description This course provides a structured approach to mastering touch typing. It covers everything from setting up your computer for optimal typing to learning how to type individual letters, punctuation, and even capital letters. Each module focuses on building muscle memory for each key, ensuring learners develop speed and accuracy with each finger movement. Throughout the course, learners will be encouraged to practice regularly to improve typing speed while maintaining correct posture and ergonomics. By the end of the course, learners will have gained the skills needed to type quickly and efficiently, improving their overall digital literacy. Whether for personal development or professional purposes, this course prepares learners for success in today's fast-paced digital world. Touch Typing Essentials Curriculum Module 01: Introduction Module 02: How to Set up Your Computer Module 03: How to type the letters F and J Module 04: How to type the letters D and K Module 05: How to type the letters S and L Module 06: How to type the letter A and ; (semicolon) Module 07: How to type the letters E and I Module 08: How to type the letters R and U Module 09: How to type the letters T and O Module 10: How to type CAPITAL letters Module 11: How to type the letter C and , (Comma) Module 12: How to type the letters G and H Module 13: How to type the letters N and V Module 14: How to type the letters W and M Module 15: How to type the letters Q and P Module 16: How to type the letters B and Y Module 17: How to type the letters Z and X Module 18: How to type Colon and Semicolon Module 19: How to type Full Stop and Comma Module 20: How to type Question Mark and Exclamation Mark Module 21: How to type Dash, Parentheses and Quotation Marks (See full curriculum) Who is this course for? Individuals seeking to improve typing speed and accuracy. Professionals aiming to enhance productivity and efficiency. Beginners with an interest in improving digital literacy. Students preparing for academic or professional typing requirements. Career Path Administrative Assistant Data Entry Clerk Executive Assistant Virtual Assistant Customer Service Representative Content Writer Transcriptionist

Duration 1 Days 6 CPD hours This course is intended for This overview-level course is ideally suited for professionals seeking an introduction to microservices architecture and its application within a business context. Ideal attendee roles include software developers, system architects, technical managers, and IT professionals who are part of teams transitioning to a microservices approach. It's also an excellent starting point for non-technical roles such as product owners or business analysts who work closely with technical teams and want to better understand and become conversant in the language and principles of microservices. Overview This course combines engaging instructor-led presentations and useful demonstrations with engaging group activities. Throughout the course you'll explore: Understand the Basics of Microservices: Get to know the fundamental principles and characteristics of microservices and how they revolutionize traditional software development approaches. Explore the Design of Microservices: Gain an overview of how microservices are designed based on business requirements and what makes them unique in the software architecture world. Overview of Managing and Scaling Microservices: Get an introduction to how microservices are managed and scaled independently, and understand the significance of these features in your business operations. Familiarize with the Microservices Ecosystem: Learn about the typical patterns, best practices, and common pitfalls in the microservices world, setting a foundation for future learning and implementation. Introduction to Microservices in a Business Context: Acquire a basic understanding of how microservices can be aligned with specific business capabilities, and get a glimpse into how they can coexist with legacy systems in a business setting. Microservices have rapidly emerged as a popular architectural style, breaking down applications into small, independent services that can be developed, deployed, and scaled individually. Microservices offer a robust method to address a variety of projects, such as e-commerce platforms and content management systems, enhancing scalability and boosting productivity. This technology, when employed correctly, can greatly increase software delivery speed and system resilience, making it a crucial skill set for modern technology professionals.Understanding Microservices - A Technical Overview is a one-day course ideally suited for technical professionals seeking an introduction to microservices architecture and its application within a business context. Under the guidance of an industry expert, this engaging class combines lecture-style learning with lively demonstrations, case study review and group discussions.Throughout the course you?ll explore the principles and characteristics that define microservices, how to identify suitable projects for a microservices approach, the factors to consider when designing them, and the strategies to effectively manage and scale them within complex systems. You?ll also learn about the best practices, patterns, and anti-patterns, arming you with the knowledge to make the right architectural choices. This course also explores the real-world implementation of microservices in a business enterprise. We'll discuss how to align the application of microservices with your organization's specific business capabilities, and offer strategies for smoothly integrating this technology within existing legacy systems. Introduction to Microservices Understand what microservices are and their role in modern software development. Introduction to Microservices: what they are and why they matter. Monolithic vs Microservices: highlighting the shift and benefits. Key principles and characteristics of microservices. Identifying suitable applications for microservices transformation. Demo: Analyzing a sample application and identifying potential microservices Architecting and Managing Microservices Learn the basic strategies for scaling and managing microservices. Scaling Microservices: from a single service to hundreds. Key components of a microservices architecture. Introduction to resilience patterns: Circuit-Breakers and Bulkheads. Load management and provisioning in a microservices setup. Understanding the role of cloud services in microservices. Optional Demo: Illustrating how a microservice-based application scales in real-time Designing Microservices Learn the key aspects to consider when designing microservices. Defining microservice boundaries: Deciding the scope of a microservice. Communication patterns in microservices. Understanding Microservice endpoints. Exploring data stores and transaction boundaries in microservices. Overcoming challenges in Microservices design. Demo: Designing microservices for a hypothetical business requirement Implementing Microservices in a Business Enterprise Understand the process and considerations for implementing microservices in an enterprise context. Assessing enterprise readiness for microservices. Building the business case for microservices: strategic advantages and potential challenges. Aligning microservices with business capabilities. Organizational changes: Team structures and processes for microservices. Dealing with Legacy Systems: Strategies for microservices integration. Demo: Exploring a case study of successful microservices implementation in a business enterprise The Microservices Ecosystem Understand the key tools and best practices in the Microservices ecosystem. Understanding the typical Microservices Stack. Monitoring and Logging in Microservices. Introduction to Docker: Containerization of Microservices. Deployment strategies in a Microservices setup. Introduction to Orchestration in Microservices Demo: Containerizing and deploying a simple microservice Microservices Deployment Strategies Understand various ways to safely introduce changes in a microservices environment. The concept of Blue-Green Deployment: changing services without downtime. Canary Releases and Feature Toggles: slowly rolling out changes to users. Database changes in a microservices environment: keeping data consistent. Demo: Examining various deployment strategies Microservices Best Practices and DevOps Learn key strategies to ensure a smooth operation of your microservices setup. The DevOps culture in Microservices: collaboration for efficiency. Defining a Minimum Viable Product in a Microservices setup: building small, delivering fast. Dealing with data in a distributed setup: managing Data Islands. The importance of Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery in a microservices setup. Governance: Keeping track of your services and their consumers. Demo: Visualizing a simple continuous delivery pipeline Microservices Patterns and Anti-Patterns Learn about common do's and don'ts when working with microservices. Understanding patterns that help with efficient microservices operation. Recognizing and avoiding anti-patterns that can hinder performance. Dealing with common challenges: dependencies between services, managing service boundaries. Demo: Examples of real-world patterns and anti-patterns Simple Overview of OAuth and OpenID for Microservices Introduction to OAuth and OpenID: What they are and why they matter in Microservices. The role of tokens in OAuth 2.0: How they help in securing communications. A simplified look at OpenID Connect: Linking identities across services. Demo

This five-day programme empowers participants with the skills and knowledge to understand and effectively apply best practice commercial and contracting principles and techniques, ensuring better contractor performance and greater value add. This is an assessed programme, leading to the International Association for Contracts & Commercial Management (IACCM)'s coveted Contract and Commercial Management Practitioner (CCMP) qualification. By the end of this comprehensive programme the participants will be able to: Develop robust contracting plans, including scopes of work and award strategies Undertake early market engagements to maximise competition Conduct effective contracting and commercial management activities, including ITT, RFP, negotiated outcomes Understand the legalities of contract and commercial management Negotiate effectively with key stakeholders and clients, making use of the key skills of persuading and influencing to optimise outcomes Undertake effective Supplier Relationship Management Appreciate the implications of national and organisational culture on contracting and commercial activities Appreciate professional contract management standards Set up and maintain contract and commercial management governance systems Take a proactive, collaborative, and agile approach to managing commercial contracts Develop and monitor appropriate and robust KPIs and SLAs to manage the contractor and facilitate improved contractor performance Appreciate the cross-functional nature of contract management Collaborate with clients to deliver sustainable performance and to manage and exceed client expectations Understand the roles and responsibilities of contract and commercial managers Use effective contractor selection and award methods and models (including the 10Cs model) and use these models to prepare robust propositions to clients Make effective use of lessons learned to promote improvements from less than optimal outcomes, using appropriate templates Effectively manage the process of change, claims, variations, and dispute resolution Develop and present robust propositions Make appropriate use of best practice contract and commercial management tools, techniques, and templates DAY ONE 1 Introduction Aims Objectives KPIs Learning strategies Plan for the programme 2 The contracting context Key objectives of contract management Importance and impact on the business 3 Critical success factors Essential features of professional commercial and contract management and administration The 6-step model 4 Putting the 'management' into commercial and contract management Traditional v 'new age' models The need for a commercial approach The added value generated 5 Definitions 'Commercial management' 'Contract management' 'Contracting' ... and why have formal contracts? 6 Stakeholders Stakeholder mapping and analysis The 'shared vision' concept Engaging with key functions, eg, HSE, finance, operations 7 Roles and responsibilities Contract administrators Stakeholders 8 Strategy and planning Developing effective contracting plans and strategies DAY TWO 1 Contract control Tools and techniques, including CPA and Gantt charts A project management approach Developing effective contract programmes 2 The contracting context Key objectives of contract management Importance and impact on the business 3 Tendering Overview of the contracting cycle Requirement to tender Methods Rationale Exceptions Steps Gateways Controls One and two package bids 4 Tender assessment and contract award I - framework Tender board procedures Role of the tender board (including minor and major tender boards) Membership Administration Developing robust contract award strategies and presentations DAY THREE 1 Tender assessment and contract award II - processes Pre-qualification processes CRS Vendor registration rules and processes Creating bidder lists Disqualification criteria Short-listing Using the 10Cs model Contract award and contract execution processes 2 Minor works orders Process Need for competition Role and purpose Controls Risks 3 Contract strategy Types of contract Call-offs Framework agreements Price agreements Supply agreements 4 Contract terms I: Pricing structures Lump sum Unit price Cost plus Time and materials Alternative methods Target cost Gain share contracts Advance payments Price escalation clauses 5 Contract terms II: Other financial clauses Insurance Currencies Parent body guarantees Tender bonds Performance bonds Retentions Sub-contracting Termination Invoicing 6 Contract terms III: Risk and reward Incentive contracts Management and mitigation of contractual risk DAY FOUR 1 Contract terms IV: Jurisdiction and related matters Applicable laws and regulations Registration Commercial registry Commercial agencies 2 Managing the client-contractor relationship Types of relationship Driving forces Link between type of contract and style of relationships Motivation - use of incentives and remedies 3 Disputes Types of dispute Conflict resolution strategies Negotiation Mediation Arbitration DAY FIVE 1 Performance measurement KPIs Benchmarking Cost controls Validity of savings Balanced scorecards Using the KPI template 2 Personal qualities of the contract manager Negotiation Communication Persuasion and influencing Working in a matrix environment 3 Contract terms V: Drafting skills Drafting special terms 4 Variations Contract and works variation orders Causes of variations Risk management Controls Prevention Negotiation with contractors 5 Claims Claims management processes Controls Risk mitigation Schedules of rates 6 Close-out Contract close-out and acceptance / completion HSE Final payments Performance evaluation Capturing the learning 7 Close Review Final assessment Next steps

Duration 4 Days 24 CPD hours This course is intended for This course is intended for security and network administrators who will be responsible for the installation, deployment, tuning, and day-to-day maintenance of the F5 Advanced Web Application Firewall. In this 4 day course, students are provided with a functional understanding of how to deploy, tune, and operate F5 Advanced Web Application Firewall to protect their web applications from HTTP-based attacks. The course includes lecture, hands-on labs, and discussion about different F5 Advanced Web Application Firewall tools for detecting and mitigating threats from multiple attack vectors such web scraping, Layer 7 Denial of Service, brute force, bots, code injection, and zero day exploits. Module 1: Setting Up the BIG-IP System Introducing the BIG-IP System Initially Setting Up the BIG-IP System Archiving the BIG-IP System Configuration Leveraging F5 Support Resources and Tools Module 2: Traffic Processing with BIG-IP Identifying BIG-IP Traffic Processing Objects Overview of Network Packet Flow Understanding Profiles Overview of Local Traffic Policies Visualizing the HTTP Request Flow Module 3: Web Application Concepts Overview of Web Application Request Processing Web Application Firewall: Layer 7 Protection F5 Advanced WAF Layer 7 Security Checks Overview of Web Communication Elements Overview of the HTTP Request Structure Examining HTTP Responses How F5 Advanced WAF Parses File Types, URLs, and Parameters Using the Fiddler HTTP Proxy Module 4: Common Web Application Vulnerabilities A Taxonomy of Attacks: The Threat Landscape What Elements of Application Delivery are Targeted? Common Exploits Against Web Applications Module 5: Security Policy Deployment Defining Learning Comparing Positive and Negative Security Models The Deployment Workflow Policy Type: How Will the Policy Be Applied Policy Template: Determines the Level of Protection Policy Templates: Automatic or Manual Policy Building Assigning Policy to Virtual Server Deployment Workflow: Using Advanced Settings Selecting the Enforcement Mode The Importance of Application Language Configure Server Technologies Verify Attack Signature Staging Viewing Requests Security Checks Offered by Rapid Deployment Defining Attack Signatures Using Data Guard to Check Responses Module 6: Policy Tuning and Violations Post-Deployment Traffic Processing Defining Violations Defining False Positives How Violations are Categorized Violation Rating: A Threat Scale Defining Staging and Enforcement Defining Enforcement Mode Defining the Enforcement Readiness Period Reviewing the Definition of Learning Defining Learning Suggestions Choosing Automatic or Manual Learning Defining the Learn, Alarm and Block Settings Interpreting the Enforcement Readiness Summary Configuring the Blocking Response Page Module 7: Attack Signatures & Threat Campaigns Defining Attack Signatures Attack Signature Basics Creating User-Defined Attack Signatures Defining Simple and Advanced Edit Modes Defining Attack Signature Sets Defining Attack Signature Pools Understanding Attack Signatures and Staging Updating Attack Signatures Defining Threat Campaigns Deploying Threat Campaigns Module 8: Positive Security Policy Building Defining and Learning Security Policy Components Defining the Wildcard Defining the Entity Lifecycle Choosing the Learning Scheme How to Learn: Never (Wildcard Only) How to Learn: Always How to Learn: Selective Reviewing the Enforcement Readiness Period: Entities Viewing Learning Suggestions and Staging Status Violations Without Learning Suggestions Defining the Learning Score Defining Trusted and Untrusted IP Addresses How to Learn: Compact Module 9: Cookies and Other Headers F5 Advanced WAF Cookies: What to Enforce Defining Allowed and Enforced Cookies Configuring Security Processing on HTTP headers Module 10: Reporting and Logging Overview: Big Picture Data Reporting: Build Your Own View Reporting: Chart based on filters Brute Force and Web Scraping Statistics Viewing F5 Advanced WAF Resource Reports PCI Compliance: PCI-DSS 3.0 The Attack Expert System Viewing Traffic Learning Graphs Local Logging Facilities and Destinations How to Enable Local Logging of Security Events Viewing Logs in the Configuration Utility Exporting Requests Logging Profiles: Build What You Need Configuring Response Logging Module 11: Lab Project 1 Lab Project 1 Module 12: Advanced Parameter Handling Defining Parameter Types Defining Static Parameters Defining Dynamic Parameters Defining Dynamic Parameter Extraction Properties Defining Parameter Levels Other Parameter Considerations Module 13: Automatic Policy Building Overview of Automatic Policy Building Defining Templates Which Automate Learning Defining Policy Loosening Defining Policy Tightening Defining Learning Speed: Traffic Sampling Defining Track Site Changes Lesson 14: Web Application Vulnerability Scanner Integration Integrating Scanner Output Importing Vulnerabilities Resolving Vulnerabilities Using the Generic XML Scanner XSD file Lesson 15: Deploying Layered Policies Defining a Parent Policy Defining Inheritance Parent Policy Deployment Use Cases Lesson 16: Login Enforcement and Brute Force Mitigation Defining Login Pages for Flow Control Configuring Automatic Detection of Login Pages Defining Session Tracking Brute Force Protection Configuration Source-Based Brute Force Mitigations Defining Credentials Stuffing Mitigating Credentials Stuffing Lesson 17: Reconnaissance with Session Tracking Defining Session Tracking Configuring Actions Upon Violation Detection Lesson 18: Layer 7 DoS Mitigation Defining Denial of Service Attacks Defining the DoS Protection Profile Overview of TPS-based DoS Protection Creating a DoS Logging Profile Applying TPS Mitigations Defining Behavioral and Stress-Based Detection Lesson 19: Advanced Bot Protection Classifying Clients with the Bot Defense Profile Defining Bot Signatures Defining Proactive Bot Defense Defining Behavioral and Stress-Based Detection Defining Behavioral DoS Mitigation Lesson 20: Form Encryption using DataSafe Targeting Elements of Application Delivery Exploiting the Document Object Model Protecting Applications Using DataSafe The Order of Operations for URL Classification Lesson 21: Review and Final Labs Review and Final Labs

This very practical session is designed to enable participants to improve the impact, clarity and accuracy of their reports. It focuses equally on the two key areas - structure and writing technique. This course will help participants: Scope reports based on objective and intended readership Write a structured report Use the Fog Index to ensure readability Write grammatically correct and well-punctuated text Review and edit their work. 1 Introduction Objectives and overview Introductions and personal aims 2 What makes a good report? Practical activity and feedback 3 Before you start The planning process and scoping a report Organising information Key report headings What goes where? Writing practice and review 4 Writing tips and techniques Clear English and use of language Grammar and sentence structure Refresher in punctuation Writing in the third person The Fog Index - and how to measure readability 5 Pulling it all together Reviewing and proofing 6 Review Summary of key learning points Action planning

This intensive one-day training programme has been developed to help those involved in producing specifications create high quality documents in an organised and effective way. The programme explains the primary purpose of specifications and the importance of understanding the context in which they are used. It focuses particularly on how to develop and structure content and write requirements that are clear and concise. The methods and techniques presented will provide a practical foundation course for those new to the topic whilst offering new insights to those with more experience. The objectives of the workshop are to: Review and discuss the role and purpose of specifications Present a structured approach for organising and producing specifications Explain each of the key steps involved in creating effective specifications Review some methods for assisting in defining requirements Explain how to define the scope and develop the structure for a specification Present methods to assist the writing and editing of specifications Review how specifications should be issued and controlled 1 Introduction Course objectives Review of participants' needs and objectives 2 Specifications in perspective The role and purpose of specifications The impact of specifications on commercial performance The qualities of an effective specification The five key steps of 'POWER' writing: prepare-organise-write-edit-release 3 Step 1: Preparing to write Defining the purpose the specification; integrating the specification and contract Deciding how to specify: when to specify in functional and technical terms Getting the right people involved at the right time; engaging stakeholders Applying procedures for writing, issuing and controlling specifications 4 Step 2: Organising the specification content Scoping the document: scope maps, check lists, structured brainstorming Clarifying requirements; separating needs and desires Dealing with requirements that are difficult to quantify Useful techniques: cost benefit analysis, Pareto analysis Deciding what goes where; typical contents and layout for a specification Creating and using model forms: typical sections and sub sections 5 Step 3: Writing the specification Identifying and understanding the readers needs Choosing and using the right words; dealing with jargon Important words; will, shall, must; building a glossary Using sentence structure and punctuation to best effect Understanding the impact of style, format and appearance Avoiding common causes of ambiguity; being concise and ensuring clarity 6 Step 4: Editing the specification Why editing is difficult; how to develop a personal editing strategy Key areas to review: structure, content, accuracy, clarity, style and grammar Editing tools and techniques 7 Step 5: Releasing and controlling the specification Key requirements for document issue and control Final formatting and publication issues; document approval Requirements management: managing revisions and changes 8 Course review and action planning What actions should be implemented to improve specifications? Conclusion

This workshop is very practical in its nature and aims to give delegates an opportunity to not only learn about the key aspects of successful bid writing, but to also put them into practice. The workshop helps delegates understand what is most important to buyers and how to successfully convey they proposition to them. 1 Welcome and introductions 2 The mindset of successful bid writing The mindset needed for successful bid writing Thinking from the buyer's perspective and not your own 3 Decision making The way buyers make decisions - rational and emotional Understanding buying motives Looking at how to present ideas against those motives The idea of cognitive fluency How to pitch an idea in a way that leads to a positive decision 4 To bid or not to bid? Writing a bid is a big commitment; a clear understanding of the chances of winning is required Understanding of the implications of winning and the impact it will have on the organisation 5 Understanding your value proposition Framework to help identify unique proposition and how that fits in with the requirements of the bid 6 The tender process Understanding the process to enable a successful chance of winning the bid Different types of tender processes Evaluation of criteria and the impact on bid writing 7 Writing skills Different ways of writing and structuring bids to ensure their messages gets across well in a way that will be looked on favourably by the buyer 8 Summarise 9 Close