 What courses have you attended recently?

Which has been the most

rewarding?
Since the pandemic situation is getting more and more intense, a lot of activities
cannot take place offline, and neither can the courses. But recently I’ve had a
chance to participate in a course about leadership skills, organized by a well-
known non-governmental organization in Vietnam named AIESEC. I found out
that the course is not easy to join because the registration round is very competitive
since there are a lot of questions to see if you’re really want to attend the courses or
not because the amount of participants is limited. I was doubting like “do they
really need to do that”, but luckily I was qualified for the course, and after
attending it, I really know the reason why they have to be so harsh at the
beginning. The course was absolutely helpful for me, it provides the essential skills
relating to leadership such as dealing with conflict, crisis, problem-solving, how to
set up a project plan,... Besides providing a huge range of useful knowledge, they
also have plenty of fun and practical activities.  I felt like after joining that course,
I have all the necessary skills to be a leader. That course really impressed me, and
I’m grateful for the chance of joining that course.
 Which format of training do you prefer - in groups, online or individual
training with a coach? What are the pros and cons of each?
For a collectivist person like me, I will definitely prefer group offline training. I
like training with many other people as much as I like teamwork, and the reason is
also simple. When you work with many other people, you will be able to see the
problem from many angles, from then you can understand the root of the problem
more deeply so that the solutions you propose will be more optimal. Apart from
giving you different views toward the problem, training in groups also enhances
your critical thinking as well as your brainstorming skills. However, the
disadvantages of this type of training are that it can easily cause conflicts,
sometimes arguments,... And especially in time, it’s very hard to have an offline
training since the pandemic situation is severe.
 Online training:
For online training, it’s much more convenient and approachable because you
don’t need time to research for a place to hold a training class, and you can save
your time traveling there, this also helps you to avoid a lot more risks like traffic
jams, car accidents,... Moreover, it’s less expensive since no cost of housing or
spacing is charged. And for the disadvantages, the most prominent problem about
online training that we can easily see is the internet connection. Online training
depends hugely on the stability of your connection, if your wifi is unstable, the
training session will be meaningless. In addition, online training also requires
certain knowledge about technology, it’s very difficult for a low-tech person to
hold an online training class by themself. The facts are that there are advantages
and disadvantages to online training but this type of training is very common
nowadays due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
 Individual training with a coach:
As for individual training’s advantages, you are able to train at your desired time
and desired pace. You train when you have time and desire without anyone being
able to influence it, the pace of the training session is also under your control.
Thus, individual training helps you concentrate better. While group training can
cause a lot of distractions, training alone will offer you a peaceful and quiet space
for your concentration. For disadvantages of individual training, self-discipline is
the biggest problem from my point of view. If you don’t make appointments, there
are many excuses to procrastinate or to cancel your work. Training alone can also
be boring since you do not have any friends or people at the same level as you to
talk to, and it makes you disinterested and badly influence the result of your
training.
 Have you ever done a work placement as part of a training program? If so,
how useful was it?
As far as I can remember, I’ve been in a training team before, when I worked at
The Coffee House as a part-timer. I worked there for 1 year and a half, so I can be
considered a senior staff there, and I can remember all the knowledge about coffee
beans and regulations and other things,... so usually my boss assigned me to train
for the newbies of the store. And personally, I think it helps me a lot. Since when
you train somebody, you think of the clearest way for your words so that the
opposite person can understand thoroughly. And you must have a training plan,
such as the order of the things you will train the newbies, like when they first came
to the store, you will show them the staff’s room, the storage, and every room in
the store, then you will teach them how to pack a coffee cup, how to serve,... And
every time I train new staff, my knowledge is revised once again, which helps me
to memorize things for a very long period of time. One more thing is that training
job also get me some new friends, because I’m one of the first person who talk to
the new staffs, so I can expand my relationship by that chance as well.
1. What is training and its benefits?
Training can be defined as:
The process of increasing the knowledge and skills of the workforce to
enable them to perform their jobs effectively
Training is, therefore, a process whereby an individual acquires job-related
skills and knowledge.
Training involves improving the effectiveness of organizations and the
individuals and teams within them.
Training is mostly short term with a concrete goal and it focuses on the role,
so therefore, training aims at a specific job or role requirement, enhances the
knowledge or skills for particular role. In addition, training programs are
group focused, where more than one individual participates in organized
group events, such as workshops, classes or seminars, and so on…