1073 Ski courses in Birmingham

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)

Recognising the value of, and practising, clear and open communication at all levels is the first step to improving performance, whether at an individual, team, management, leadership or organisational level. We all know this, but why is it so difficult? This unique programme will make it much, much easier for you by giving you a robust framework to use - and the opportunity to practise your skills in a safe, supportive environment. It will help you have conversation that deliver tangible results. The programme will help you: Overcome the barriers to effective performance conversations Handle feedback conversations effectively Improve working relationships with your staff Set realistic expectations and targets (and get 'buy-in' for them) Improve your communication style Plan and prepare for honest conversations in the workplace 1 What is an honest conversation? Why don't we have them more often? What stops us? The cost of not having them 2 The feedback conversation Dealing with the impact of feedback conversations 3 Preparing for conflict 4 Effective working relationships 5 The expectations conversation 6 The targets conversation 7 Your communication styles 8 Planning and preparing for an honest conversation 9 Giving and receiving feedback skills

This is an opportunity to benchmark your current and future safety and health vision and priorities in line with global models of safety, and to benefit from good practice gathered from leading organisations from around the world. Through lively discussion, debate and exercises, including benchmarking, gap analysis and case studies, leaders attending this programme deepen their understanding of how to use their skills to drive their organisation to the next level in its safety and health performance. The programme is designed to help leaders:

How do you manage yourself under pressure? Are there times you get hijacked by your emotions and find it hard to deal with setbacks? How good are you at dealing with change? Resilience is all about having the ability to adapt, deal with change constructively and bounce back from adversity. While some people are naturally more resilient that others it is something that can be learnt. This session focuses on helping you respond positively to the pressures and demands of work and take specific steps in building your personal resilience. Take away: Action planner for i-resilience profile. You will have the opportunity to: Gain insight into the relationship between work pressure, performance, wellbeing and resilience Explore your natural strengths and how to manage what pushes you into a less resourceful state Understand the skills and techniques that underpin the behaviours and attitudes of highly resilient people

If you are a Mental Health First Aider or MHFA Champion you have skills for life that support you and the people around you. We believe that mental health should be treated equally to physical health - and just like physical first aid, Mental Health First Aid training should be kept up to date. The four-hour MHFA Refresher course will empower you to: Keep your awareness of mental health supports current Update your knowledge of mental health and what influences it Practice applying the Mental Health First Aid action plan Outline About mental health Stress and factors that influence mental health Mental health continuum and stigma Frame of reference and non-judgement Reintroducing ALGEE Warning signs of mental ill-health Depression and anxiety Suicide and first aid for suicidal crisis Psychosis and first aid for severe psychotic episodes Practising our MHFA sills Self-care, wellbeing and recovery

We need to talk openly about how we are performing and we sometimes need to have an 'honest' conversation with our manager. We all know this, but it can be difficult. This short, focused workshop will give you the confidence and skills to have a conversation with your manager (or anyone else for that matter) about your performance and how you can add value. It will focus on how to get yourself heard and build better working relationships with those key to your success. The programme will help you: Overcome the barriers to effective performance conversations Receive feedback without taking it personally Improve working relationships with your manager Agree realistic expectations and targets (and get 'buy-in' for them) Improve your communication style Plan and prepare for honest conversations in the workplace 1 What is an honest conversation? Why don't we have them more often? What stops us? The cost of not having them 2 Asking for feedback 3 Preparing for challenge 4 The expectations conversation 5 Your communication styles 6 Planning and preparing for an honest conversation

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

This is an essential programme for managers or members of staff (or students) who need to be able to read and summarise information on screen faster and more effectively. The session focuses on the different types of reading style and encourages better retention of written material through the use of specific speed-reading techniques. By the end of this programme participants will be able to: Explain the principles of speed reading Understand the barriers to reading Use different reading styles according to the information being read Read more effectively from tablet and computer screens Co-ordinate eye movements better Minimise any poor reading habits Increase reading speed by over 50%, without losing comprehension Improve retention of information using specific techniques The programme focuses on how to maximise reading from electronic devices by exploring techniques which will reduce eyestrain and improve reading effectiveness. The session also explains different types of reading styles and how to learn new, positive reading habits. 1 An introduction to speed reading The history of speed reading Assumptions about reading The process of reading Schema and its influence on interpretation Eye/brain relationship How our brain processes written information 2 Minimising barriers to reading Understanding eye tics Mouthing The influence of different light sources Body clocks and making use of natural patterns 3 Reading styles Importance of choosing the right reading style Speeds and their influence on retention Reading for pleasure Proof reading Scanning Skimming Reading for retention SQRW principles 4 Reading from electronic devices The challenge of reading from screens Importance of breaks and proper display screen evaluation Calibrating screens and background colours Formatting documents Using eye guides

Meetings are a fact of working life - both virtual and physical meetings. Recording the key points from meetings is critical to making sure that accurate information is captured, and action points are clearly identified and allocated. This virtual training session will support members of staff to develop their skills in recording the key points from meetings and discussions. This course will help participants: Describe the different levels of note taking and pick the appropriate style for the meeting Prepare to take minutes in the virtual and the physical environment Liaise and work in partnership with the meeting Chair Use a template to enable the capturing of key points Set up the room ready for the meeting Identify key points to record, versus what not to record Interrupt the meeting confidently to check key points Take neutral, accurate and concise records Produce a well-laid out set of minutes. 1 Introduction Objectives and overview Introductions and personal aims 2 An introduction to minutes Purpose and use Different levels of notetaking 3 Preparing to take minutes Identifying the purpose of the meeting Working with the Chair Tips and techniques to prepare effectively Case studies, review and discussion The physical environment: setting up for a meeting 4 Listening and recording Tips and techniques to make the process easier How to interrupt a meeting What to record; what to leave out Recording in short-form using playscript and bullet-points Listening neutrally Activity: Minuting a Meeting The tricky ones and how to overcome problems in the meeting 5 Preparing the minutes Producing a set of draft minutes Tips on grammar, punctuation and layout Stylistic variation Managing feedback from the Chair 6 Review Summary of key learning points Action planning

It's a fact of life that costs generally increase and as a result prices must go up too. Implementing an increase without losing customers is challenging. Talking about a price increase with customers never makes for an easy conversation. Your customers will generally decide whether to accept the increase based upon value, as well as the hassle cost of switching and going elsewhere. Even the most experienced salesperson who has implemented price increases before will be fighting back the nerves when faced with the task of 'selling' the increase. In this flexible programme, we will support your internal preparations at whichever stage you and your colleagues are at. From making the decision to increase prices, right through to those on the frontline already dealing with any push-back. This programme will help participants: Understand the business case for increasing prices Take steps to research the market Consider their customers' motivations Use the six principles of influence Identify and adapt for different personality styles Assess their level of trust with customers Build rapport rapidly with their customers and prospects 1 Raising prices - keys to success Understanding the business case Researching the market Assessing the value of your offering 2 Understanding your customer base Assessing your key accounts What is your 'target' customer range? Creating consistency in pricing approach 3 Planning the increase Timing your implementation Communication strategy Elements of a good price increase letter 4 Developing influencing skills The Trust Equation The six principles of influence Discovering your customer's buying decisions 5 Emotional intelligence and price increases The part emotion plays Developing strategies for keeping calm Handling your customer's responses 6 Understanding different customer styles Discover your own style Recognising behaviour traits in others Adapting your approach to their style 7 Preparing for customer contact Preparing for specific customers Anticipating their response Dealing with challenging customers 8 Following through Maintaining a consistent approach Resisting requests for discounts Confirming the increase in writing