Professional Development

Short Courses

A student studying in class

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Studying at Buxton College has really helped me in my career.

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You may be an employer looking to up-skill and revise skills at work with your staff or an individual wanting to gain some extra skills to improve your employability. Whatever the reason, a short course could be the right option for you. Designed to focus on singular tasks in the workplace, our short courses have been designed to enhance management skills, both for themselves and their team, bringing added value to the overall organisation.

Courses available include:

Assertiveness at work

Assertive communication can be fundamental to improving people's ability to work together, negotiate and achieve workable compromises in a straightforward manner. It enables individuals to communicate clearly and confidently, reducing conflict and creating a culture of open communication.
This course will introduce a range of practical skills and useful techniques which will enable participants to communicate assertively in the workplace, enhancing performance from an individual, team and organisational perspective. It will help identify and assist individuals to apply assertive techniques appropriate for the working environment.

Conducting Appraisals

Properly conducted performance appraisals are motivational. Moreover, by identifying how to improve the quality of an individual's work, you can improve their job performance and identify areas for development. This one day course is aimed at middle managers who are responsible for conducting staff appraisal and will cover:

How to conduct an appraisal
What makes a successful appraisal
Methods of assessment
Use appraisal to manage performance.

Time management

This one day programme is aimed at getting more out of your day and reducing the frustrations caused by poor time management at work . It will help you to increase your efficiency through managing your email and prioritising your workload effectively. The course contains practical exercises to put your new skills to use.

How to build successful work teams

People in every workplace talk about building the team, working as a team, and my team, but few understand how to create the experience of team work or how to develop an effective team. This course discusses the principles of team building and puts them into practice with realistic exercises.

The course content includes:

How to create teamwork
Teams and continuous improvement
Goal setting
How to set clear expectations.