MCAD Instruction

From the May 2002 issue of

Training is one of several areas where e-opportunities are proving slow to open up - at present the majority of CAD users undertaking training are more likely to be sitting with an instructor in the flesh, rather than opting for an electronic alternative. To get a sense of the current scale of the market for instructor-led CAD training in the mechanical engineering sector, and for feedback on the range and value for money of the courses on offer, we interviewed managers responsible for design functions at 247 UK sites.

Training Breakdown

Over half of the managers we spoke to reported that staff on their sites don't do any form of CAD training. Some of these sites will be afflicted with that all too widespread culture that sees training as a luxury, but there will also be a large group of users who have reached a level of CAD expertise considered acceptable for the specific task in front of them. A quarter of sites in our sample use off-site instructor-led CAD training, and a further 10% arrange on-site training.  Training by colleagues was identified as a regular activity at a quarter of sites.

Very small sites in the mechanical engineering sector are significantly less likely to undertake CAD training of any description. Only 17% of sites with less than fifty staff arrange off-site instructor-led training, compared to a third of sites with more than 50 staff. Off-site training is undertaken by 6% of these very small sites, compared to 14% of sites with more than 50 staff.

Provider Numbers

The majority of sites where staff are undertaking instructor-led training are having their needs met by one provider. At least a third are using more than one training provider (11% of managers were unable to say for sure how many providers they use).

Satisfaction Levels

The group of sites identified whose staff do undertake some form of instructor-led CAD training is too small (75 sites) for fully reliable analysis; however, discussions with managers in this group on satisfaction levels with their training providers are worth recording. Ninety-three per cent said that the range of training courses available from their current supplier(s) is sufficient to meet their needs. It's probable that a large proportion of this group are not overly demanding on the type of training they seek; we can't say therefore that they wouldn't be interested if a new type of training was offered to them - they're just not on the look out for alternative/new themes at present.

Nearly three-quarters of managers whose staff undertake instructor-led CAD training feel it represents good or moderately good value for money (with an even split between these ratings). This leaves one in five however who rate the value for money factor as average, poor, or variable.

The Temptation Factor

Satisfaction with the range and value for money of instructor-led training may be running high, but when temptation comes in the form of cheaper options, heads are turned. A third of managers using instructor-led training said they would definitely consider an alternative provider who was offering a similar training package at lower cost. A further two in five said maybe, and only 27% thought they'd definitely stay loyal to their existing provider(s).

Conclusion

For VARs looking to expand CAD training provision within the mechanical engineering sector, tackling the half of sites where no organized training is taking place could be a key factor if this business opportunity is to be realized. There will be a lot of CAD users out there who are stuck within a particular groove of expertise - convincing them of the productivity benefits of going to a new level is a major challenge.

There's a clear message here for providers of instructor-led training provision: find out how satisfied your customers are with your offerings, and make sure your key accounts are among those companies with reasons to stay loyal to their providers. The number of overseas-based training providers seeking a foothold in the UK market through lower prices is increasing - when you add the potential impact of an increase in the amount of on-line training available, there is no room for complacency.

CAD Spaghetti is a free monthly newsletter published by the Business Advantage Group Plc

Related Articles

All the week's articles
FREE!