From running someone else’s company to establishing your own training firm

The Chief Executive Officer of London Business Training & Consulting, Rohit Chandiramani, agreed to an interview with Emagister to tell us how the idea of creating a training centre came up.

Located at Seven Pancras Square, London Business Training & Consulting (LBTC) rise on the heart of London: Kings Cross.

“if Kings Cross is good enough for global giants like Google and Universal Music, then it is good enough for the UK’s premier business and management training provider – LBTC.” Mr Chandiramani said.

In King Cross where, due to its international footprint, there are hundreds of premium and budget hotel options which suit LBTC’s international clientele perfectly and where there are the best transport links in the entire city, London Business Training & Consulting was founded on 16^th January 2017.

“I have been working in the professional training industry for over 12 years, the majority of which has been spent running someone else’s training company,” Chandiramani said, who first had the idea of establishing his own training firm in January 2011. However,

“it took me over 5 years to formulate the strategy in my mind. Once I had the entire plan mapped out in my head, I resigned from my previous role by December 2016 and registered LBTC 3-weeks later”

the CEO tells Emagister.

What kind of courses do you offer? What is your ideal student profile?

LBTC offers short courses (1-day to 2-weeks) focused on Strategic Management; Leadership & Management Skills; Public Sector; Human Resources; Accounting, Finance & Banking; Operations & Project Management; Marketing, Public Relations & Sales; Administrative & Secretarial Skills; and Information Systems.

We primarily cater to business clients from both the public and private sectors. Our clients hail from all over Europe, Asia and Africa. The typical delegate profile ranges from younger junior-level staff all the way up to the most senior experienced C-suite (C-level) executives.

What teaching methodologies do you use? Why did you choose them?

At LBTC, the courses are delivered by practicing business and management consultants. Our consultants are meticulous in developing a sound understanding of the delegates’ individual learning objectives, and consequently customise their content and delivery to address the clients’ specific learning needs.

They employ experiential training techniques such as group activities, exercises, case studies, documentaries and lively class discussions to conceptualise the theory and put it into perspective for the delegates in attendance.

We aim to equip the course participants with business and management tools and techniques, that can be deployed immediately upon their return to work thereby addressing the professional challenges they face.

Are your courses more theoretical or practical?

Definitely practical. Although, we do indeed draw upon relevant business and management theories to deliver training. The focus is predominantly on the practicalities of the challenges our clients face at work. Therefore, we show course participants how they can utilise the theoretical concepts in real-world scenarios.

What type of qualification do your students receive once they complete their training?

Upon completion of a course, delegates are conferred with an LBTC certificate of completion. That said, we currently do not offer qualifications as such.

What kind of jobs can your students choose at the end of the course?

Generally, delegates attending our courses are already employed. However, by attending our courses the vast majority get the career boost they seek and are able to fast-track their progress up the career ladder.

Which advantages do students have studying in your centre?

• An introduction to the latest business and management concepts from leading industry experts thereby enabling delegates to develop practical knowledge and skills that will assist them in their respective work-based scenarios.
• The opportunity to share ideas and network with a diverse range of course participants hailing from a variety of countries and industries.

Is there any aspect of your centre (or course) that you would like to highlight?

LBTC runs an entirely paperless operational model. Therefore, all our course material is delivered in electronic format on Apple iPads. Consequently, on arrival, each delegate will receive an iPad that is included in their course fee. They will use this device to access their course material, take notes, and at the end the iPad will belong to them.

What do you think about education nowadays? How has it changed since last century?

More so than the last century, I have seen education change drastically in the last decade particularly. For instance, education is no longer viewed as a pursuit one must go through simply prior to setting out in one’s career, but as a continuous process one must follow to remain relevant throughout their career.

Furthermore, the information boom has only served to heighten people’s thirst for yet more knowledge and information, and education is an excellent medium to quench this thirst is a systematic and organised fashion.

Finally, whilst I believe there will always be a place for the classroom-based form of education (or training) such as that offered by LBTC, due to the severe time constraints placed on all of us by the fast-paced nature of our lives, education-on-demand – or e-learning, is what contemporary learners seek. Although, the effectiveness of e-learning packages on the market today is contested due to their inability to engage learners.

This is where LBTC plans to plug the gap by developing its own highly engaging and interactive e-learning packages that capture and retain the users’ attention. Given the scale of the task at hand and to perfect the formula right from the beginning, the earliest we envisage we can get our first e-learning products to the market is 2020. That’s LBTC’s Vision 2020.

We are building the future of education and training, or to use more accurate terminology – learning and development.

 Management, Marketing, Human Resources, Training, Leadership