How to Become a Corporate Trainer or a Facilitator Part 1
For 10 ten years, I worked as a corporate liaison; my role, among other things, was to recruit, interview, and hire corporate trainers for many clients. I am happy to share what I’ve learned with those on the path to becoming a corporate trainer.
Highlights:
- Decide to become a facilitator, a corporate trainer, or both
- Learn how to price your training
- Take classes in instructional design and adult learning theory
- Become certified
First, you will need to decide if you want to develop your own content or if you want to facilitate someone else’s.
Companies like FranklinCovey, DDI, Achieve Global, and Ken Blanchard already have content developed, and you pay to take a course to become a certified facilitator in that content*. What will separate you from all other facilitators is your delivery. I’ve experienced facilitators who read directly from the PowerPoint or manual, and it was like nails on a chalkboard–such a waste of time and money for everyone! The best delivery I’ve seen is when the facilitator has taken the time to develop activities to engage the audience, uses PowerPoint as a guide and not a crutch, engages the audience by asking thought-provoking questions, and is able to provide real-life scenarios to incorporate in the class.
It’s important to remember a facilitator is on the learning journey with the class.
*(Note: If you are presenting on another company’s content, you must receive permission to do so, whether that is through a facilitator training course or some other form of validation that you can facilitate on the topic. The last thing you want is to present on a topic and then someone contact you, saying you don’t have permission.)
Most facilitators I’ve hired charge between $150 – $250 an hour (some even more) because they are certified by the providers I’ve listed. And then there was the price per person for the material expense.
Developing your own content means you know enough about the subject and have enough hands-on experience to answer pretty much any questions relating to the topic. Depending on what you plan on covering, lean six sigma, computer software, leadership, or professional skills, you will want to search for credible certifications in that field (make sure you are up-to-date with the latest information). And to reiterate, make sure you are covering a topic that doesn’t require you have any special certification to instruct it.
If you’ve never developed a course from scratch before, it is a good idea to take an instructional design course and an adult learning course or hire someone to help you create it.
Building your own content takes a lot of time and research. Generally, 8 hours of content development equals 1 hour of instruction; however, it depends on what topic you are delivering.
When billing for your services, you want to include the time you spent in course development, and if it is a course you’ve already developed, you charge for any customizations you make to meet the client’s needs. The price you charge for course development should not be the same as what you charge for instructing the course.
Most corporate trainers I’ve paid for course development, charged between $45-$75 an hour, but this depends on the extent of the development. I’ve had a few who charged over $200 an hour for course development, but it was a highly technical trade they were developing into a course. I also had several who charged per person.
Want to know more? Stayed tuned for Part II
If you are having a tough time figuring out your price point LinkedIn has an article that may help:
How Much to Charge for Training Workshops: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-much-charge-training-workshop-pricing-essentials-sharon-gaskin/
Interested in taking classes to become a corporate trainer? Check out these course offerings:
NC State Corporate Trainer Certification
https://www.dalecarnegie.com/en/courses/499
https://www.franklincovey.com/engage-with-us/certify-to-teach/
https://trainingindustry.com/continuing-professional-development/certified-professional-in-training-management/
