Selecting the best PRINCE2 training providerLithuania
Key takeaways
Choose a PRINCE2 provider based on learning outcomes and ethics, not marketing claims.
- Cheap courses often cut corners on materials, venue comfort, classroom time, and trainer experience.
- Ask to see sample materials and look for clear diagrams, online access, and continuous improvement.
- Avoid oversized classes where questions are discouraged and interaction with the trainer is limited.
- Excessive pre-course study demands can signal insufficient classroom support and rushed delivery.
- Check ethics, dates, and refund terms, and be wary of providers that cancel locations after taking payment.
Introduction
Read on to discover how to find the best PRINCE2 training provider. Essential reading for any individual or organization currently trying to choose a provider.Contents
Sales pitch
We’ve all seen the reviews: Introduction“Voted the Best PRINCE2 Course” “It’s official – we train more PRINCE2 students than any other!” ”100% Pass Rate for PRINCE2!” “Luxury location…” “FREE training materials. FREE PRINCE2 templates. FREE PRINCE2 manual.”
Of course, nothing is really free. It’s a sales pitch. And, more than likely, the training location is not luxury and the statistics have been fiddled. The past few years have seen an explosion of cheap PRINCE2 training providers, all sporting variations on these tag lines. Why is it that these remain effective, despite the fact that most prospective PRINCE2 students are fully aware of the illusory nature of sales strategies and marketing?What is a business case?
One reason is perhaps the difficulty of knowing the best way to select a PRINCE2 training provider. There are many factors involved, not immediately apparent to the PRINCE2 novice. The nature of PRINCE2 trainingBusiness case examples means that there are a narrow range of end results for any PRINCE2 courseBusiness case template (i.e., choosing PRINCE2 FoundationSummary or PRINCE2 PractitionerBusiness case FAQs), and most courses tend to be the same length. Thus, the only remaining variable seems to be cost, which can be strikingly different from one training provider to another.Introduction
The training experience mattersThis article explains how to write a business case. It includes 2 business case examples and a free business case template for you to
However, while cost may be the most obvious variable from the purchasing end, it is perhaps the least important from the perspective of the experience and effectiveness of the training. Understanding the downloadPRINCE2 methodology. and You’re probably reading this article because you want to know how to write a business case. Perhaps your organisation is embarking on a major project to develop a new product. Or, perhaps you’re thinking of moving house so your family can enjoy a better life. In either case, you write a passing the PRINCE2 examinationsbusiness case is dependent upon a training experience that allows students sufficient time to absorb the material, to communicate with an experienced PRINCE2 trainer, and to discuss the to ensure the investment is worthwhile.PRINCE2 methodIn this article we’ll give you 2 business case examples, provide you with a simple business case template for you to use, and explain how to write a business case. in relation to their own project management situations.Enhance your skills with our expert-led courses
All too often, cost-cutter training courses preclude these aspects of the PRINCE2 training experience. In order to offer students cheap courses, training providers cut back in four basic areas: materials, venue, time and trainers .
MaterialsPersonal business case
PRINCE2You may also use a business case to justify an investment you make in your personal life. For example, when you’re thinking of moving home to another area. You and your spouse will need to understand the costs of moving, the timescales and risks involved, and weigh these up against the benefits to be gained e.g. saving time traveling to your office, or your children able to go to a better school. is a comprehensive methodology, and it is vital that students have access to clear and reliable training materials, in order to grasp the ins and outs of each process, the interrelation of the Why have a business case?management productsProjects should not just start on a whim or because of vanity – although a lot of money has been wasted over the years on such , and the role each principle and theme plays in the overall framework.projects
Death by PowerPoint.
Cheap training courses have a preference for PowerPoint, often printed six to a page. There are some PRINCE2 training providers who offer their students more than 360 PowerPoint slides in 3 days. Talk about death by PowerPoint!For business organisations, justification for a project usually takes a commercial form i.e. evaluating how much money could be made from the investment. For example, investing money in developing a new software app to bring first to market, might be deemed to bring certain monetary benefits (in terms of sales) which exceeds the costs of investment.
Ask about the materialsFor government organisations, justification is probably not a commercial one, but could be based upon giving value for money to achieve certain benefits. For example, a public health campaign extolling the benefits of flu-vaccinations for elderly people, might be judged as giving greater value for money than having no campaign, and instead relying on treating patients in hospital once they have contracted the virus.
When selecting a With so many competing claims being made on scarce funds, organisations need the assurance that the decision they are taking is the right one. After all, there will not be enough funds to pay for all the ideas for projects which are floating around the organisation.PRINCE2 courseWho uses a business case? for yourself or your team, take a few minutes to enquire about, or peruse the training materials available: Are they printed, for example, in black and white or colour (a significant concern, given the quantity of PRINCE2 charts and diagrams)? Are training materials available online? What kind of pre-course materials are offered?Business cases can be used by many different levels of management within an organisation. Not only are they used to justify the investment in an individual project, but also they are typically used by a
Need to be continuously improvedportfolio management
Less reputable training providers will not devote time to improving their course materials because they see this as a cost. If they can get away with using the same materials time after time, even though they aren’t effective, then they will do so. office to help it decide which projects will contribute to the organisation’s strategic goals. That way, they can filter out the bad ideas for projects, and only fund projects which will contribute to strategic goals.
Better training providers know how important the whole learning experience is, and take the time to improve their materials over time.A business case is also often used by a project sponsor or project executive to help it decide if they should invest in a specific project.
Venueproject management
Avoid supermarket courses, the project management methodology known as
Pile ’em high, sell ’em cheap—that’s the motto of a growing number of PRINCE2 training providers, and in today’s tight financial climate, the strategy has its successes. However, it also results in students crammed thirty to a room (yes, you read it right – more than thirty!), sharing desks, training materials, and sometimes even chairs. (I’m not kidding – these are all examples taken by students who have attended such courses with other providers, failed and then came to PRINCE2Knowledge Train focuses its decision-making on a project on having a viable business case. to take another course with us).Business case examples
The bigger the size, the lower the educational valueWe will now give you 2 business case examples. The first example is one which you might find useful for taking decisions in your personal life. The 2nd business case example is more business focused project.
The problem with high class sizes means the higher the ratio of students to teacher, the less one-to-one communication is possible, and the harder it becomes for the student to grasp the course material. In other words, the more students in the class, the less the educational value (and comfort level) for each.Business case example 1: Moving home
You need to be able to ask questionsSuppose you and your spouse are considering moving to a new home. You will need to weigh up the pros and cons of moving. This is done using a business case. You might not call it that, but that’s what it is. Let’s look at an example.
This is starkly illustrated by the situations of some classrooms, in which students are barred from asking questions, as there are simply too many for any kind of interaction beyond the lecture theatre set-up. One student who came to Knowledge Train after failing their exam with another provider said the first thing the trainer told his students on the first morning was that “nobody could ask questions because otherwise I don’t have enough time to get through the materials”.Reason
TimeAs you can see from the example, the first thing to be clear about in a business case is the reason for doing the project or activity. In this example, the couple has answered the question
Most PRINCE2 trainers will ask their students to study in advance of the course, and to complete a certain amount of homework and revision before their Why?PRINCE2 exam In fact, there are two problems here – the local school and John’s long commute.. In cost-cutting training organizations, however, this can be taken to extremes.Options considered
Avoid huge amounts of time beforehandA business case should weigh up the competing options which have been considered. After all, there is usually more than one option. Perhaps an alternative option would have been for John to change his job to one nearer their current house. However, this wouldn’t solve the issue with the school.
With less time available in class to ask questions to the trainer, cheap training providers compensate for this by making their students spend more time preparing for the course in advance (often up to 15 hours) and more time doing homework.Benefits
While I wouldn’t want to prevent any keen student from going that extra mile, it is important to be aware, when choosing your The benefits of a project or activity are the positive things you’re going to get back in return for your investment of time and money. In this case, the kids will get a better education, and John will save time each day.PRINCE2 trainingTimescales, that such excessive extra study time is a clear indication that the classroom hours and environment are not sufficient to support a high success rate or effective PRINCE2 training.It’s also important to understand how long the investment of resources will take. This is so that the organisation (or family in this case) knows when the resources will be freed up to work on other
TrainersRisks
Good trainers cost moneyFor any activity or project, it’s also important to understand the major risks involved. Risks are the uncertain things which may or may not happen during the period of the investment. There is only one risk identified here, which is the risk that the couple might lose touch with friends who live close to them right now.
One crucial way that cheap training providers use to save money is to employ inexperienced trainers. Those trainers just starting out in their training career are glad to get any work. The most experienced PRINCE2 trainers (and therefore more costly) can pick and choose who they work for.Investment appraisal
By choosing the cheapest PRINCE2 training providers, it’s very likely that your trainer will be relatively inexperienced in delivering The next section is where the costs and timescales and risks are weighed up. For this project, it’s a simple decision for the couple to decide if it’s worth spending money over the next 5 years to give their kids better schooling and to save John 2 hours a day commuting.PRINCE2For an organisation to decide if an investment is worthwhile, however, there are several different ways in which it can decide about the investment..Often in organisations there are rules defined to help business analysts or
We’ve even heard of one academy bringing PRINCE2 trainers in from India to deliver courses in the UK. There’s no shortage of qualified, experienced PRINCE2 trainers in the UK, so they can only be doing this to save money.project managers
Company size
Big is not betterInstructor-led
Some companies like to tell you they are the largest provider. You know what large companies are often like – think of your mobile, or gas or electric provider. Good customer service? Probably not. It’s the same with training providers.Better Business Cases Practitioner (with Foundation) course
£2,400 +vat
Don’t be treated as a sales target
It’s generally the case that the larger the company, the less the individual customer is valued. You just become a number, a sales target, something to be shifted between departments as part of a system.See all dates
A smaller provider is much more likely to treat you as an individual, not as a potential sales target. The best providers will try to understand your training needs before offering you advice about which course (if any) would suit you.
Is the provider ethical?
You might think that all training organisations are ethical in the sense that they advertise a course, you pay for it, and then you attend and hopefully get accreditation at the end. Sounds simple doesn’t it?
However, there are some unethical training organizations who have no intention of ever running a course in a particular location. They advertise it however, will take your money but often don’t deliver.Self-paced
The typical way this works is that the unethical provider will advertise the same course running in 5 or 6 cities in the same country all on the same date. They will then advertise the same course in the same cities the next month. They hope to get one or two people from each city and will then cancel all the courses except one and tell people from the other cities the location has changed and they must travel to the other city to attend the course, take their Better Business Cases Practitioner (with Foundation) self-paced onlineonline learning instead, or lose their money.£1,199 +vat
Terms and conditionsThe final section is the investment appraisal. The investment technique used in this example is called net benefits. As you can see from the table, the project and operational costs are recorded for each year of the investment.
Can you get your money back? The law is quite clear in the UK – you should be able to get a full refund if the company is not able to provide you with the goods or services which you have paid for. Read carefully the terms and conditions on the supplier’s website. You might be in for a nasty shock.The project lasts 1 year which is why the project costs are zero after year 1. Of course, the benefits won’t be realized until the solution is in place and the company starts to use the handheld devices.
Unethical providers will keep your money and will make it extremely difficult for you to get a refund. Be clear what you are getting yourself into. If you do fall foul of abusive practices, contact your local trading standards office to make a complaint.The net benefits are simply the total benefits minus the total costs. This shows that the company will start to get a return on its investment sometime towards the end of year 2. This knowledge is vital if the decision-makers are to take a sensible decision about whether to invest in the project.
Tactics to help youBusiness case template
PRINCE2 training providers operate in a keen market place. This puts the potential PRINCE2 student in the position of selecting from a wide range of providers.This simple
It is easy, for example, for training providers to fiddle their statistics (anyone can have a 100% pass rate, if you take into account only a few selected examinations), and to make the kinds of claims we considered at the beginning of this article. In this case, how can the new PRINCE2 student cut through the sales guff to choose the truly optimum course?business case template
We’ve put together 12 questions to ask before buying a course in an article. By asking these questions you can save yourself a lot of money and disappointment later by choosing a reputable training provider. is free to download.
Don’t just consider costSummary
Finally, do not be deceived by cost. A A business case is the most important document on any project. That’s because it justifies the investment.PRINCE 2 courseIt helps an organisation be clear about why a project is needed, and what the results of the investment will be. This is crucial because no organisation has unlimited funds to spend on an unlimited number of projects. Therefore, a business case gives confidence to senior managers when deciding to invest in one project rather than another. several hundred pounds cheaper than the rest is likely to be lacking something crucial – good quality training materials, experienced trainers, training time, or training space, all essential components for an effective and fulfilling PRINCE2 training experience.However, as you have seen in this article, a business case is something which you can find useful when taking major decisions in your own personal life. Remember – a business case doesn’t need to be a lengthy document. It could easily be a few notes scribbled on the back of something or even sent in an email.
Don’t forget the old adage: “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is”.Whatever form your business case takes, remember one thing – it will help you or your organisation take sensible decisions about committing time and resources to a project or activity.