A career in the consulting field is striking for various reasons. However, training in consulting is also important in order to succeed in this field. In other industries like pharmaceuticals or consumer products, companies invest million of dollars in the product design as well as research and development field.
However, the consulting industry's major expenditure or you can say investment is training. Consulting companies allot around 20 percent of their income for their internal training programs, and consultants gain benefits from them.
Generally, consultants spend around one to two months annually on attending training programs which are sponsored by the companies. Companies also provide computer-based training programs and industry oriented literature to enhance the employees job performance. Requirements of training in the consulting field are wide-ranging.
Employees who are from the top-ranked schools or colleges also find such training programs fulfilling and valuable. While recruiting for top companies, recruiters are willing to offer some extra dollars in order to hire consultants who attend programs to enhance their skills.
There are two types of training programs for a Consultant - Orientation and Ongoing Training.
Orientation training:
Orientation training starts when a new employee walks through the door and is addressed by the human resource representatives. In big companies, orientation training is conducted at a remote location. After the new employee completes his paperwork at the office, they travel to the company's huge training campus. After reaching their destination, they check into their rooms, then gather for a welcome meeting, and interact with their colleagues from all around the world.
Orientation training is disreputably meticulous and strenuous. New employees work in teams throughout the day, interact with executives who behave as clients, learn computer codes, attend sessions, and complete CBTs. Every year, consulting firms spend millions of dollars in order to develop the skills of new employees. Consulting firms also take into account the time for rest and entertainment. However, such time is granted after the hard work and team-based learning. Even though, most of the employees are tired by the end of the day, they find this experience rewarding. Though orientation training seems to be an impolite awakening, it has many perks.
Ongoing training:
Once consultants get familiarized to live in hotels and interact with customers, training necessities reoccur which is part of the ongoing development. Experienced consultants undergo the entire program of computer training, industry oriented seminars, administration workshop etc.
Ongoing training helps the employees to better their performance. It also helps to find out whether an employee is ready for promotion. Most of the companies promote their employees only if they complete a certain training program during that year. So ongoing training helps consultants in two ways, it helps to better their performance in the current work, and also provides the opportunity to progress in the ranks and earn more money with added responsibilities.