Not using the best available tools for a job is never a particularly good idea. Sure, you may still complete the task successfully, but it might have been much more difficult than necessary, or more time-consuming, more costly, or perhaps have given a less effective result. If you need to remove a screw, use the right kind of screwdriver. If you need to hire a van to carry anything around, hire the right size of van. If you're entering into a complex and important project, make use of project management software - it'll help keep your schedules and budgets within their limits, highlight potential problems, give you more control over the allocation of resources, and offer you a clearer vision of the whole project from start to finish. All in all, effective use of project management software can make the difference between a completed project that's merely sufficient, and one that fulfils every demand to the best possible extent - or even the difference between success and outright failure.

And when we talk about project management software, chances are we're talking about Microsoft Project. It's the dominant player in the market, a prominent part of the Office suite and gives you all the tools for a successful project. With Project, it's easy to manage your schedule, and to create a Gantt chart illustrating the relationship between tasks across the entire lifetime of the project - which tasks are dependent on others being completed in order to start themselves, and how resources are distributed between them - as well as identifying the critical path of tasks that are vital to the project being able to run to its conclusion. The program also helps you to manage your budget, and to see which costs are generated where in the project, giving you greater power in keeping expenditure in hand. What's more, Project can help you to see how any aspect of the process will behave in the future, taking into account the impact of any changes or problems that may develop along the way, and giving you the chance to adapt your project in advance - and avoid any troubles before they arise.

However, just as it's important for your organisation that Project has all the tools you need, so that also creates a problem: can you be sure that you're making the most of everything it has to offer, and gaining full benefit from using the software to manage your project? A short Project training course should answer that question for you, and put the power of Project in your hands. It should... provided that you can find a first-class training provider.

Why such a proviso? IT training is IT training, isn't it? Sadly, no. There can often be a huge disparity in the quality of training between different providers, and if your company is going to feel the benefit, it's imperative that you find one that ticks a few very important boxes. First amongst these should be the standard of the training itself - or, more specifically, the standard of the trainers. There's no obligation for any company that provides training for Microsoft applications to have trainers who are fully qualified and certified by Microsoft; however, just a little online research should tell you immediately whether a provider guarantees all of its trainers to be fully certified. Make sure you choose one that does, and you'll be making sure that the tuition you receive is accurate, up-to-date and of the highest quality.

However, there are other important issues that need to be borne in mind. It's hugely advantageous to any company to be sure that the training will go ahead when it's needed, so booking with a training provider that guarantees never to cancel any courses - whilst still allowing you to reschedule - is evidently desirable. It's also wise to find a provider that gives you flexibility as to location, whilst still keeping all prices clear and uncomplicated. And one more thing: as we're looking at just a short training course, it's worthwhile ensuring that the provider will offer ongoing support long after everyone has gone back to their workplace.

Every project, however large or small, is important - so there's no company that wouldn't benefit from knowing it has the best project management skills always at hand. Finding the ideal training provider creates just that assurance, and a certainty that the many powerful tools within Microsoft Project will be put to their best use. Identify the best training for your business, and you can train your sights on a brighter future.