Look online and you will find training provider after training provider waiting to serve your needs especially within the world of IT. In fact, these days finding a training provider is as easy as finding a bag of sugar in the local supermarket. But how do we find the time to sift through every training company in a bid to find the one which suits our needs, time and money?

Despite popular belief the conventional training provider comes in all shapes and sizes so there are many factors which need to be considered before you and your money part ways.

A training provider has to produce courses which are informative, relevant and reasonably priced but they also have to be constructed in such a way as to fit in with a learner's individual learning style. This is a consideration which many people overlook. There are a number of ways in which students absorb information effectively. Therefore courses need to be constructed in a range of styles to cater for varying needs so as the same information can be understood by everyone.

When a training provider matches someone's learning style, the effectiveness of the learning is increased and demonstrated within the workplace. The right training provider will also save you time and money as a course which matches the learning style of a student decreases the amount of time spent understanding concepts and increases the rate of absorption and recall.

A training provider will construct courses based upon three learning styles integrated as a group and known as Perceptual Modalities. These three styles are visual, auditory and tactile/kinaesthetic. Auditory relies upon listening to the spoken word. Visual uses images, diagrams and words and tactile/kinaesthetic uses a practical approach based upon touch. Most instructor orientated courses or e-learning programs have auditory, visual and tactile/kinaesthetic elements.

Educational psychologists have long believed in an age old concept known as conation which relates very closely to motivation. When we feel excited about learning something new we are drawn to doing so by a level of motivation which inspires us. This drive can either come from an outside influence or something which has been inbuilt within us which stimulates the mind into wanting to know more.

It is this motivational aspect which encourages us to research a course, send out enquiries and purchase the DVD or register for classes. This is the job of motivation to stimulate our senses and present the choices before us. It is at this point that connotation takes us to the next level. This is the internal desire which prompts us to complete the course. If the training program we purchase matches our conative needs, we will naturally sail through the course and complete it without any effort. If we are struggling to work past the first module, our conative needs have not been met and the program is not worth the paper it was printed on.

Allow me to extrapolate further. There are many people who love the social aspect of learning. They enjoy the feeling of camaraderie where a group of people meet up to share information, experiences ideas and even problems. They relish on an instructor lead course where everyone works as a unit to complete modules. Anyone with these conative needs will thrive in such an environment and work through the program with little effort.

On the other hand, someone who is used to learning independently would struggle in such an environment as their conative needs would not be met. It is likely that this type of person would fail to turn up for training or find it difficult to absorb information in such a setting. An online self-paced tutorial would likely suit the conative needs of someone who prefers to learn alone.

Motivation is rather like building a bonfire - the motivation gives you the drive to gather wood and prepare the fire but the conation ensures that the warmth is maintained by keeping the fire stoked and burning. If you lack the conation the flames will start to die down and eventually go out. Many of us can relate to that buzz of motivation when we were drawn to a course but how often have our flames of excitement dwindled when the training provider has not met our conative needs?

An instructor lead course or an e-learning course has relatively the same content but it is the way that it is presented which makes all the difference. A pupil who prefers to learn at home would feel the fire in his belly start to diminish in a classroom setting as the flames would not be stoked and kept alive. However, a learner who enjoys social learning would feel his flames of motivation constantly burning and would stay engrossed and invigorated from start to finish.

When choosing a training provider whether it is at your local college or online, you need to do undertake some careful research. Have a look at all of the different options available to find the one which makes you feel most comfortable and keeps your fire burning so as you commit from beginning to end and know that you have picked the right training company for you. Good luck!