During 2006-7 West Midlands Regional Development Centre (WMRDC) facilitated a training program for professionals working in the voluntary sector. This was led by Kevin Heffernan, Mark Rayne and Alison Gray from WMRDC and Jo Godman from the NHS Institute. Feedback has been universally positive. Here is how Carolyn found the program.

The course consisted of 6 sessions over a 6 month period and was continuously linked to the project which the participants represented.

Not everyone was convinced about the program when it started; Pat had initial doubts but found the course very valuable:

The content of the program was determined by the participants themselves, and included team development, building and managing relationships, service delivery, how to plan, risk management Leadership and how to evaluate.

The facilitators used different approaches and methods. From didactic teaching to making a collage. with lots of post-it-notes in-between.

Pat's comments on the learning style of the program:

We even threw paper planes in an exercise to demonstrate the natural variation within a process. 

Overall both the participants and the facilitators enjoyed learning together. Karen experienced ups and downs with her project and would recommend the program for its support as well as information.

Carolyn feels it has made her a better manager:

The facilitators learned from the participants and each other. Mark found delivering a new program a steep learning curve, but enjoyable:

Alison felt it was a very positive experience:

Jo reports learning a lot from everyone:

The next course is booking now! Click here for link to further information and booking forms, or email Mark.