400 Courses in Edinburgh

The NVQ Level 2 Diploma in Decorative Finishing & Industrial Painting is appropriate for individuals aged 16 and over working in the construction sector who specialise in painting and decorating activity and are looking to become eligible for the Blue CSCS Card. The aim of this qualification is to recognise the knowledge, skills and competence of individuals who specialise in painting and decorating activity. Upon completion of the qualification, you will be awarded the NVQ Level 2 Diploma in Decorative Finishing & Industrial Painting. CSCS Cards We can provide CSCS tests and CSCS Cards alongside the qualifications without the need to attend the test centre. Speak with our friendly and helpful team for more information.

Overview Networking has become a crucial factor in the modern workplace. It is the most effective method of developing your business or career and is a key component of your personal brand. This one day course will teach you how to be able to build strong business relationships, develop a level of personal credibility and increase your network of contacts in order to enhance your visibility and create opportunities for yourself and your organisation. Description This training course will help your participants build a professional reputation and develop a network of connections through the two key methods available to them; face-to-face and online. Attendees will discover how to effectively combine these two approaches and create a strategy for networking success that will generate their own community and actively grow their personal network. This will result in an improved performance in their approach to networking and consequently provide opportunities and prospects that will increase their business success. The training provides them with the tools and techniques to both plan a successful, strategic approach to networking and develop their personal communication skills, which will ensure they build effective business relationships. Topics covered: Why Network? – Establishing the importance of networking with some shocking statistics and an activity that defines the importance of networking to the individual. This is followed by some insight into the key aims of a networking strategy, what puts people off, as well as some personal revelations about networking. Increase Your Business Presence – Looking at the components of a strong business presence, including; credibility, personal brand, visibility and social capital. Developing a Networkers Attitude – An exercise that clarifies the perfect attitudes and behaviours of great networkers and comparing the participants against this. Thus identifying areas for development. Face to Face Networking – An overview and insight into the main types of face to face networking opportunities available with the benefits and pitfalls of each. Online Networking – An overview of the different social media and online networking tools and how to get the best out of them. Includes; LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and online forums. Communication Skills for Networking Success – Ensuring a good first impression, creating an opening sound bite and writing an online profile that promotes and engages. Developing a Conversation – Building on the opening sound bite and developing a conversation through good questioning techniques and following a selection of key networking rules. Including an activity to test and practice the skills. Working a Room – A fun activity that embeds and develops learning while encouraging practice and communication. This activity covers 10 of the main skills required to work a room. Breaking into a Group – Identifying body language to spot when a group or pair is open to new people entering the conversation or would rather not encourage participation. Knowing how to break into a group, what to say and how to remain professional. Exiting a Conversation – Developing some techniques to extricate oneself from a conversation without causing embarrassment or rudeness. The Follow-Up – Using a structure to identify the most important contacts created and establishing when and how to follow up with each group. Includes example follow-up email and a chance to develop their own. Creating a Network Plan – Participants are provided with a networking action plan to review and complete. This sets them on the journey of developing their networking skills and ensures they have a strategy and goals to target. Who should attend Anyone who is looking to improve their networking performance, or the networking performance of a management or sales team. Requirements for Attendees No pre-requisites required.

Overview This one day Building Better Work Habits training course has been developed for everyone in your organisation who may struggle with their own personal effectiveness. They may not have control of their own workload or blame others as to why they’re not achieving certain tasks and projects. Alternatively, it might be that high performers want to understand how they can organise themselves in a new way to give themselves more stretch in their roles. The training course will help the learners build self-awareness and will highlight the important parts of working smarter to achieve end goals. Description We are all busy, and sometimes it seems we do not have enough hours in the day to complete deadlines and projects. It can then eat into our home life, meaning we often end up stressed, or in worst-case scenarios, unwell (both physically and mentally). The reason behind this is often how we work day to day, as opposed to others giving us work at the last minute. These training course materials have been designed to help your participants work more effectively for the long term. This isn’t about how to manage a diary or emails, but rather look closely to see what are the blockers which get in the way of success. These small changes in day to day work will have a dramatic impact in both productivity and personal effectiveness. Topics covered: Productivity: the science bit – A chance to explore what we mean by being productive and how that helps us build better work habits, as well as the opportunity to look at some of the science behind myths and bad habits we’ve probably already formed. Includes a link to a YouTube video. Procrastination, why put off to tomorrow what we can do today! – Participants will explore what we procrastinate about, how we procrastinate in our own lives, and what we can do about it! Eat That Frog – An introduction to Brian Tracy’s book “Eat that frog” and how it can help us improve our working habits. Includes a link to a YouTube video. Eat That Frog: Thinking on Paper – A chance to put into practice some of Brian Tracy’s methods and how to use them in our real lives Eat That Frog: Rocks, Pebbles and Sand – Taking our goal setting further, we explore Covey’s methodology around prioritising our tasks. Eat That Frog: The Pareto Principle – The final part of the “Eat that Frog” section looks at how effective we in terms of how we spend our day Prioritising: how do we spend our day? – Participants explore how proactive they are, and what the danger might be in letting a situation rule their time Prioritising: The Priority Matrix – Taking the Rock, Pebbles and Sand methodology further, participants explore what truly is urgent and what is important in our day to day Prioritising: Company Performance Tensions – We may know what our own personal objectives are, however, our business objectives have certain tensions that could impact these. How can we balance these two different objectives to ensure we’re successful day to day? What’s my mindset? – Sometimes we can get in the way of our own successes and plans due to our mindset; utilising Carol Dweck’s work, it is a chance to reflect on our own mindsets when we’re building new work habits. Includes a link to a YouTube video. What’s my mindset? Energy Cycles – Our energy can impact our mindset and how productive we are. A chance to look at what gives us energy, and how we can work more effectively depending on where our energy levels might be Who should attend Anyone interested in understanding in being more effective at work. Requirements for Attendees None.

Overview This one day course covers the basics of brainstorming and then goes on to look at a number of different yet highly effective techniques that can be employed. Description Brainstorming is probably the most well known and most widely used method for bringing groups of people together to generate ideas about an issue or problem. This is because it’s a good way to gather a lot of ideas very quickly. It is also a great way of bringing people together and helping to build them as a team. Just imagine the effect on the team and its morale if ideas that they generate are actually used. There is no doubt that people are more likely to buy into the ideas that they came up with themselves. Although brainstorming is widely used for decision-making, it is not always handled very well. If that is the case, it can have the opposite effect to the one that is intended. Rather than creating ideas it can stifle them and rather than motivating people it demotivates them. This highly interactive course will help learners to make the most of brainstorming sessions and also provides alternative techniques to enliven any session that is beginning to flag. Topics covered: What is Brainstorming? – A discussion to help participants understand what brainstorming is, and what it involves. Brainstorming rules – A quick look at the very limited rules suggested by Alex Osborn who is generally credited with being the inventor of brainstorming. Preparation – Although many brainstorming sessions take place on the spur of the moment they all require some preparation. We look at the importance of defining the purpose of the session, selecting the right participants, and then briefing them properly. Storm and Floods – This is an activity that we re-visit on several occasions to take participants through the whole brainstorming process and to give them plenty of practice. The Three R’s of Facilitation – The three R’s take you through the essential elements of facilitating an effective brainstorming session. Closing the Session – Effective closing of the brainstorm may be just as important as the session itself. We look at the essential elements that the facilitator needs to cover. Clarify and Nurture – Learners discover the importance of ensuring that all ideas that are unclear are clarified and that ideas are nurtured. They also learn what this involves practically. Alternative Techniques – There are many ways to enliven a flagging brainstorming session, provide a fresh approach or simply build on initial ideas. The learners are introduced to some of the most important of these. Brainstorming Scenarios – Learners work through up to 6 scenarios so that they can practice the alternative techniques covered during the programme. Who should attend Anyone who facilitates or takes part in brainstorming sessions, or wants to work with organisational teams to develop their problem-solving abilities. Requirements for Attendees None.

Overview This course sets out to develop attendee’s skills in understanding their own body language as well as being able to read the body language of others. If we can learn to identify and appreciate non-verbal clues, we can begin to improve our communication as a whole. This use of body language skills could impact situations such as; sales visits, interviews, presentations and normal day-to-day interactions where body language plays a part. Description Effective communication skills are critical in the development of relationships between people and although verbal communication plays a large part in this, studies have shown that a proportionate amount of our message comes from not what we say, but very often the non-verbal communication behind the message. Therefore, it is clear that body language is an important, influential aspect of communication and understanding how it works is essential in the development of your personal communication skills. Topics covered: Core Principles and the Five C’s – Exploring the subconscious effects of body language and setting the scene by ensuring participants appreciate the rules to interpreting body language. Reading Body Language – Gestures – An activity that helps participants realise the power of body language and how important it is to communication. Arm Barriers – Understanding the different arm barrier gestures and crossed arm positions and what each means. Palm and Handshake Gestures – Discussing the different handshakes and palm actions, what they mean and how they are applied in real life. Includes activities that test the theory. Hand and Thumb Gestures – A review of these different gestures and what they mean. Hand to Face Gestures…or… How to Spot a Liar! – An exploration of different gestures that involve the hand moving to the face. Identifying how to spot body language that signifies lying and what to watch out for. Chin and Cheek Gestures – An activity that helps participants understand the different chin and cheek gestures and how to interpret this body language. Eye Signals – A review of pupil dilation, directed gazes and eye accessing cues in order to fully understand how eyes provide body language clues. Matching & Mirroring – Looking at the technique of building rapport and developing relationships through careful observation of body language. Bringing it all Together – An activity that allows participants to embed their learning and realise how much they now understand and appreciate body language and its effect on communication. Who should attend Anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of their own body language, and that of others. Requirements for Attendees None.

Overview This one day course will provide guidance on how to become more assertive and build self-confidence, which in-turn will help your attendees to achieve greater work effectiveness and productivity, whilst putting them in control of their daily activities and making them more able to overcome stressful work and life situations. Description Being assertive is being able to express yourself with confidence without having to resort to passive, aggressive or manipulative behaviour. By developing assertiveness and becoming aware of our own strengths and weaknesses, we can modify our behaviour for greater effectiveness in social and business interactions. Topics covered: What is Assertiveness? – A series of activities relating to what assertiveness means and, perhaps more importantly, what it means to the participants. My Assertiveness Goals – A chance for the participants to review what they want to get out of the session and where they would like to end up with regard to their approach to assertiveness. How Assertiveness Works – A look at human reactions and the reasoning behind them culminating in an activity that looks at the participants own observations in relation to assertive behaviour. My Assertive Rights – A review of the rights we have as individuals followed by a commitment to the rights by the participants. Taking a Positive Approach – Looking at key methodology, including: – Giving and Receiving Compliments A review of typical responses to compliments and their negative consequences, followed by an opportunity to develop new, positive responses. – Improving Self-Esteem An in-depth review of each individual’s positive aspects. – New Challenges A set of challenges to take participants out of their comfort-zone and into the realm of possibilities. – Effective Communication A look at what makes effective communication, with some modelling of behaviours. Approaching Assertiveness – A look at the four cornerstones of being assertive with an opportunity to practice these behaviours. The Words You Use – Understanding the key areas of effective communication. Covering the areas of; Disclosing Your Feelings, Being Clear, Being Persistent, Empathising and Working Towards a Wise Outcome. Preparing to Be Assertive – A chance to understand and practice a set process of ‘scripting’ in order to develop an effective and natural approach to assertive interactions. Assertive Review – An activity that solidifies the reasoning behind wanting to become assertive, whilst demonstrating that it is not an unachievable outcome. Who should attend Anyone that needs to develop their assertiveness skills and improve communication with others Requirements for Attendees None.

Overview This course has been created to help safely navigate attendees through the minefield of absence management, paying attention to issues of systems, procedures and organisational culture along the way. Using a selection of exercises, activities and sample documents, the course examines some traditional methods of management as well as some more contemporary and innovative ways of keeping a lid on casual absence. Attendees will take away a number of practical tools and ideas to enable them to target performance improvement when back at their desks. Description It’s estimated that absence from work costs the UK economy over £13 billion per year, with the ‘average’ employee taking around seven days off sick annually. The need for managers, HR people and leaders to control absenteeism is critical if a company is to survive and prosper. But just what is ‘absence’? And how do we go about managing it and reducing it wherever we can, without falling foul of employment law? As well as the usual training material, attendees on this course also receive several useful handouts and exercises relating to absence management. Topics covered: An Absence Management Model – this section identifies a simple model for managers to apply when dealing with absenteeism Defining Absence – the text book definition will help learners clearly understand what is meant by absence Types of Absence – unravelling the different types of absence and distinguishing between absence and leave Classifying Absence – by classifying types of absence, the learner can begin to get a steer on how to manage it Statistics – identifying the real cost of absence and looking at regional and sector differences Reasons for Absence – considering the high-level issues that have an impact on absence, like culture and job design Causes of Sickness – here the national league tables of sickness causes are discussed, giving the learner the chance to reflect on their own team or company Absence Management – Stage 1 – contracts, policies, procedures and legal entitlements are all examined here, to allow learners to get a grasp of what they have to know to Absence Management – Stage 2 – record keeping, costing absence and benchmarking provide the chance for analysis and understanding in the context of the learner’s own organisation Absence Management – Stage 3 – setting out the skills and interventions that managers need to apply in the effective management of absence, including: communication, professional advice, workplace issues and return to work interviews Traditional Approaches – an examination of performance management, sick pay, discipline, recruitment and selection and how these can lend themselves to effective absence management Reducing Absenteeism – through less traditional approaches, looking at ‘carrots and sticks’, targets, employee assistance, unusual initiatives and organisational culture. Recent Developments – considering the impact of ‘fit notes’ and potential pandemics. Who should attend This course has been designed for anyone that deals with absence or needs to have an awareness of the absence management process. This could include; Team leaders, supervisors, managers, HR professionals and anyone else involved in the management of people or organisations. Requirements for Attendance None.

Overview This one day Accident Investigation course will give participants the necessary information and skills to enable them to carry out a thorough and effective accident investigation. Description This course will provide attendees with the necessary information and skills, to reach the right conclusions, make effective, practical recommendations and thereby make a significant contribution to improving workplace health and safety. Topics covered: Accidents & Accident Causation – If an organisation does not properly control risks, the outcome of an accident often depends on chance. Because the outcome of an accident cannot be accurately predicted, the only way to effectively reduce accidents is by controlling the underlying causes of all the different accident types. Accident Reporting Process – Reporting of Injuries, Diseases & Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) The Process – You have 2 top priorities when you are first notified of an accident. The first is to the injured person to ensure that appropriate medical attention is available. The second priority is then to ensure that the area is made safe to ensure no other persons are injured Accident Investigation – Every employer has a Moral, Legal & Economic obligation to protect the health and safety of employees while at work The Cause of Accidents – During an accident investigation you will be looking for the unsafe acts and the unsafe conditions which contributed to the accident. If you carry out the investigation effectively, then you will find the root cause or causes of the accident Facts to be Collated – When you conduct an accident investigation you should be seeking to obtain information on unsafe acts, unsafe conditions, immediate failures and latent failures. To find out these various elements of the accident you need to ask the questions who, where, when, and what, which will give you details of the event Reaching Conclusion – Identifying all the failure modes, satisfy all the answers to what, where, why, who etc., and thus identify all the causes of the accident Review of Session – Creating an action plan to embed learning. Who should attend Managers, leaders, trainers, health and safety officers and anyone involved in health and safety training and/or procedures. Requirements for Attendees None.

Overview Networking has become a crucial factor in the modern workplace. It is the most effective method of developing your business or career and is a key component of your personal brand. This one day course will teach you how to be able to build strong business relationships, develop a level of personal credibility and increase your network of contacts in order to enhance your visibility and create opportunities for yourself and your organisation. Description This training course will help your participants build a professional reputation and develop a network of connections through the two key methods available to them; face-to-face and online. Attendees will discover how to effectively combine these two approaches and create a strategy for networking success that will generate their own community and actively grow their personal network. This will result in an improved performance in their approach to networking and consequently provide opportunities and prospects that will increase their business success. The training provides them with the tools and techniques to both plan a successful, strategic approach to networking and develop their personal communication skills, which will ensure they build effective business relationships. Topics covered: Why Network? – Establishing the importance of networking with some shocking statistics and an activity that defines the importance of networking to the individual. This is followed by some insight into the key aims of a networking strategy, what puts people off, as well as some personal revelations about networking. Increase Your Business Presence – Looking at the components of a strong business presence, including; credibility, personal brand, visibility and social capital. Developing a Networkers Attitude – An exercise that clarifies the perfect attitudes and behaviours of great networkers and comparing the participants against this. Thus identifying areas for development. Face to Face Networking – An overview and insight into the main types of face to face networking opportunities available with the benefits and pitfalls of each. Online Networking – An overview of the different social media and online networking tools and how to get the best out of them. Includes; LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and online forums. Communication Skills for Networking Success – Ensuring a good first impression, creating an opening sound bite and writing an online profile that promotes and engages. Developing a Conversation – Building on the opening sound bite and developing a conversation through good questioning techniques and following a selection of key networking rules. Including an activity to test and practice the skills. Working a Room – A fun activity that embeds and develops learning while encouraging practice and communication. This activity covers 10 of the main skills required to work a room. Breaking into a Group – Identifying body language to spot when a group or pair is open to new people entering the conversation or would rather not encourage participation. Knowing how to break into a group, what to say and how to remain professional. Exiting a Conversation – Developing some techniques to extricate oneself from a conversation without causing embarrassment or rudeness. The Follow-Up – Using a structure to identify the most important contacts created and establishing when and how to follow up with each group. Includes example follow-up email and a chance to develop their own. Creating a Network Plan – Participants are provided with a networking action plan to review and complete. This sets them on the journey of developing their networking skills and ensures they have a strategy and goals to target. Who should attend Anyone who is looking to improve their networking performance, or the networking performance of a management or sales team. Requirements for Attendees No pre-requisites required.

Overview This one day Building Better Work Habits training course has been developed for everyone in your organisation who may struggle with their own personal effectiveness. They may not have control of their own workload or blame others as to why they’re not achieving certain tasks and projects. Alternatively, it might be that high performers want to understand how they can organise themselves in a new way to give themselves more stretch in their roles. The training course will help the learners build self-awareness and will highlight the important parts of working smarter to achieve end goals. Description We are all busy, and sometimes it seems we do not have enough hours in the day to complete deadlines and projects. It can then eat into our home life, meaning we often end up stressed, or in worst-case scenarios, unwell (both physically and mentally). The reason behind this is often how we work day to day, as opposed to others giving us work at the last minute. These training course materials have been designed to help your participants work more effectively for the long term. This isn’t about how to manage a diary or emails, but rather look closely to see what are the blockers which get in the way of success. These small changes in day to day work will have a dramatic impact in both productivity and personal effectiveness. Topics covered: Productivity: the science bit – A chance to explore what we mean by being productive and how that helps us build better work habits, as well as the opportunity to look at some of the science behind myths and bad habits we’ve probably already formed. Includes a link to a YouTube video. Procrastination, why put off to tomorrow what we can do today! – Participants will explore what we procrastinate about, how we procrastinate in our own lives, and what we can do about it! Eat That Frog – An introduction to Brian Tracy’s book “Eat that frog” and how it can help us improve our working habits. Includes a link to a YouTube video. Eat That Frog: Thinking on Paper – A chance to put into practice some of Brian Tracy’s methods and how to use them in our real lives Eat That Frog: Rocks, Pebbles and Sand – Taking our goal setting further, we explore Covey’s methodology around prioritising our tasks. Eat That Frog: The Pareto Principle – The final part of the “Eat that Frog” section looks at how effective we in terms of how we spend our day Prioritising: how do we spend our day? – Participants explore how proactive they are, and what the danger might be in letting a situation rule their time Prioritising: The Priority Matrix – Taking the Rock, Pebbles and Sand methodology further, participants explore what truly is urgent and what is important in our day to day Prioritising: Company Performance Tensions – We may know what our own personal objectives are, however, our business objectives have certain tensions that could impact these. How can we balance these two different objectives to ensure we’re successful day to day? What’s my mindset? – Sometimes we can get in the way of our own successes and plans due to our mindset; utilising Carol Dweck’s work, it is a chance to reflect on our own mindsets when we’re building new work habits. Includes a link to a YouTube video. What’s my mindset? Energy Cycles – Our energy can impact our mindset and how productive we are. A chance to look at what gives us energy, and how we can work more effectively depending on where our energy levels might be Who should attend Anyone interested in understanding in being more effective at work. Requirements for Attendees None.