CONTENTS. 5 News News from us News from the training industry

Transcription

1 TRAINING TRAINING BAROMETER BAROMETER ANNUAL BAROMETER ANNUAL BAROMETER

2 CONTENTS 5 News News from us News from te training industry Foreword During 2013 te economic turnaround in te UK allowed many companies to start investing more in iring and training teir employees. However, companies tat were reticent to spend during te downturn years are now more careful wit teir budgets and more determined to get te best value for money. Gone are te days of te preferred supplier lists - more and more companies now require elp sourcing providers. Te training market is increasingly competitive, wit most companies looking for up to 4 quotes for training before tey decide to purcase. Our experience over te last year as sown tat price and timeliness in responding to enquiries are te most important factors for companies wen coosing a provider. Te future looks brigt for te training industry, as 79% of te training providers tat took place in our bencmark survey say tey expect teir turnover to increase in Furtermore, 65% providers say tey experienced a turnover increase in tis is up from 50% in Tis Training Barometer is an annual statistical compilation tat gives you an overview of wat appened in te training industry during 2013, a report on te latest trends and a prediction of wat to expect trougout 2014/15, and tips for success. Findcourses.co.uk is te UK arm of Educations.com Media Group (EMG). As te market leader in Nortern Europe, we operate educational searc engines tat are used by more tan 2 million visitors per mont. At our eadquarters in Stockolm, we ave a growing team of over 120 igly experienced employees and many more at our local offices in Denmark, Finland, Germany and Norway. We are planning to open offices in Australia, Singapore, Te Neterlands and te US in te coming years. 7 EMG: About us Media partnersips Strategic partnersip Co-osted event Custom training portals 13 Our users - your course participants Numbers of users and information requests How professionals searc for training Were our users come from Our training consultancy service Wo are te professionals searcing for training Companies / organisations tat use Findcourses.co.uk 21 How users find your training courses Popular areas of training Attitudes towards training Courses in te top 10 lists 25 Training provider survey Taking te pulse of te industry - provider bencmark 27 Digital trends Online and mobile marketing Te mobile revolution Multi-cannel reac 32 Recommendations Feedback from our users Get more from your marketing campaign 35 Case studies and testimonials Training providers working wit Findcourses.co.uk Our support for Mary s Library

3 4 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 5 NEWS FROM US During 2013, we continued to develop our searc platforms, respond to new algoritm canges and react to te canging needs of te training industry. Troug tese efforts, our entire company group experienced growt across all markets in Europe, none more so tan in te UK were we experienced a 40% growt for te second year running. We ave also developed a number of new services designed to put training providers in front of te rigt training market for teir business growt. We re excited about te new features and services we ll be working on in Because we do all of our tecnical development in-ouse, we are quick to react to consumer canges, launc new products and create flexible solutions for our clients. One of our main focuses for is to elp our clients understand te value of potential buyers multi-cannel searc for training - and ow to track tis to see actual ROI. Below we igligt some of te most notable trends and predictions for te coming year. NEWS FROM THE INDUSTRY THE BIGGER PICTURE FROM : WHAT HAS HAPPENED? NEW RECORDS In 2013 we doubled results compared to More tan 1.2 million unique visitors found courses on our sites and we sent 30,000 Information Requests to te providers we worked wit. VOTED TOP 20 EDTECH COMPANY We were a finalist of te EdTec Europe 20 Award at te June 2013 EdTec Europe Summit, an award tat recognises te top 20 fastest growing, most innovative EdTec companies in Europe! NEW MOBILE SITE We launced a brand new mobile version of Findcourses.co.uk. Mobile traffic is growing exponentially, and our new custom interface is easier to use from bot pones and tablets. 2014: WHAT S COMING? NEW CUSTOMER LOGIN PORTAL We are launcing a brand new Customer Login interface wit new features for all of our training providers. Wit improved usability, tis will make it easier to edit courses & see statistics & reports. MOBILE SITES FOR PROVIDERS Te market is increasingly using mobile devices to searc for training. To elp our providers access tis market, we are offering a new mobile-adapted version of teir profile & listing. ONLINE CHAT We ave been using a personal cat service for users in wic our experienced advisors are available online and guide users to te rigt courses, tus furter improving our conversion rates. OUR PICK OF THE MOST RELEVANT INDUSTRY NEWS FROM 2013 Volume of training rises wile spending falls Wile te number of employers providing training as more or less returned to pre-recession levels, te amount spent per employee as actually decreased from 1,680 per employee in 2011 to 1,590 in Wile te number of job vacancies being advertised rose by 45% since te eigt of te crisis in 2009, te number of skills sortage vacancies (SSVs) vacancies tat occur wen employers cannot find people wit te rigt qualifications or skills to perform a given role effectively nearly doubled during te same period. Source: Lack of investment damaging for training companies Training companies are lagging beind wen it comes to investing in innovative management systems. A majority still rely on simple spreadseets and in-ouse databases and ave no intention of canging teir administration system in te near future. As a result, tey are failing to respond to canging customer abits and in te long run will ave difficulty satisfying a type of demand tat is becoming very different from tat wic may ave prevailed 4 or 5 years ago. Source: FACEBOOK APP We developed a brand new app tat allows our clients to publis teir courses on teir Facebook page, elping providers to really get value from Facebook as a marketing cannel. NEW DESIGN During te Autumn we gave Findcourses.co.uk a facelift. Te result created a layout and framework tat is easier to use and as greater focus on te content itself, driving more conversions. NEW SEARCH RESULTS PAGES Based on a researc project, we developed a new searc results page were users can easily see more information on te list of courses, including reviews to elp tem coose te rigt course. MORE CALL TO ACTION BUTTONS We ave igligted te summary box on your course pages and created clearer calls to action. Tis as elped us improve our conversion rates and drive more value to providers. OPENED A NEW OFFICE We opened a new office in Germany, and our German team is now based in Manneim. Kursfinder.de is te equivalent of Findcourses.co.uk, targeted at te German training market. EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS Following te success of te worksop we organised in London in 2013, we will develop tis as a service. We will also exibit at Learning & Skills and te CIPD s L&D Sow during te Spring. FOCUS ON REVIEWS Getting reviews from our providers is more important tan ever, particularly in terms of searc results. We are developing a new review function tat providers can integrate into teir sites. LEARNING AT WORK WEEK 2014 We continue our partnersip wit te Campaign for Learning, and will be matcing training providers togeter wit companies tat are looking to meet new providers during te week May. LAUNCHING IN 3 NEW MARKETS We are now investing eavily and expanding East, West and Sout into tree new markets! We are launcing sites in France, Russia and te USA during COMPANIES USING FINDCOURSES PRO We ave a team dedicated to our customised portals tat are available for companies to purcase: FindCoursesPRO. During 2013 we launced portals for Rejlers, HSB Stockolm, and IBM. Workers take control of teir development Individuals are becoming more aware of te significance of training for teir personal development and, as a result, are demonstrating iger levels of proactivity and autonomy wen it comes to making decisions about ow teir training is designed, delivered and funded. Te findings come from a survey of 120,000 respondents from 31 countries, wic also suggested tat workers are looking to develop teir skills not just to become more attractive to oter organisations, but also to progress in teir current workplace. Source: Government focus on vocational training Wen it comes to Government initiatives in te area of training and professional skills development, 2013 was arguably te year of vocational training. Despite planning to reduce te overall Adult Skills Budget (ASB), te Government demonstrated a strong interest in working even more closely wit employers to promote training programmes tat meet real business needs. In tis context, Apprenticesips were and continue to be a major point of focus, and tis will most likely continue trougout 2014, wit more opportunities for employers. Source: Crisis in management and leadersip A consistently popular teme trougout 2013 was tat of management and leadersip skills, wit many studies igligting dissatisfaction among employees wit regards to teir managers performance in te workplace. Te Cartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) was one of te bodies tat investigated te matter, finding tat over one tird of line managers do not receive any training related to teir supervisory duties, wic is creating problems in terms of interpersonal relationsips as well as organisational culture. Source: Skills sortages plague energy industry In te context of mild optimism regarding signs of economic recovery, te energy sector oil & gas in particular stands out as a booming area of activity in wic employers are growing increasingly anxious about te lack of suitably skilled talent available to meet teir future recruitment needs. Wit a majority of oil & gas companies in te UK looking to recruit new workers, training and professional development will play a fundamental role in te ability to close tis gap before it becomes a real indrance to te sector s labour development. Source:

4 6 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 7 UNITED KINGDOM Professional education: Findcourses.co.uk United States of America Professional education: Findcourses.com SWEDEN EMG ead office in Stockolm Student education: Studentum.se Gymnasium.se Professional education: Utbildning.se Kurser.se Aktivitet.se NORWAY Local office in Oslo Student education: Studentum.no FINLAND Local office in Helsinki Student education: Studentum.fi Professional education: Koulutus.fi DENMARK Local office in Copenagen Student education: Studentum.dk Professional education: Finduddanelse.dk Kurserforledige.com GERMANY Local office in Manneim Professional education: Kursfinder.de Te Neterlands Student education: Studentum.nl Global France 2 international sites Student education: Educations.com Professional education: Topformation.fr Professional education: Searcmba.com Russia Professional education: Findcourses.ru During million EMG elped visitors send information education 35 requests to providers in countries topformation fr DÉVELOPPEMENT PROFESSIONNEL findcourses ru Обучение для карьеры и развития

5 8 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 9 OUR MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS Trougout 2013 we continued to develop our successful media partnersips. Troug tese cooperations, Findcourses.co.uk is able to reac active audiences of targeted professionals in te UK and abroad. Training providers benefit from tese media partnersips by aving teir courses & campaigns listed on 3 top performing sites. Our goal is to co-operate wit new partners to reac users witin specific industries and job roles in 2014/15. OUR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP Findcourses.co.uk is committed to elping everyone find te te rigt professional development solution for teir needs - a mission tat is based on a strong belief in te power & value of learning. Tis is wy we are trilled to continue our strategic partnersip wit te Campaign for Learning (CfL), supporting tem in teir work to create a culture of learning tat engages individuals and fosters social inclusion. Te Independent In May 2010 we partnered wit Te Independent, bringing uge benefits for our providers and users. BLACK WHITE London Evening Standard In December 2012 we partnered wit te London Evening Standard, te most read paper in London Findcourses.co.uk partnered wit te Campaign for Learning in 2012 to elp support teir activities and elp tem reac a wider audience. Te Campaign for Learning aims to create a society were learning is at te eart of social inclusion. As well as elping people find te rigt training for teir development in te workplace, Findcourses.co.uk as a wide reac in te lifelong learning field and also elps people find courses for teir personal development too. Findcourses.co.uk powers Te Independent s Courses section tat is fully integrated into teir site. All courses on findcourses.co.uk are automatically listed on courses.independent.co.uk too. Findcourses.co.uk powers te London Evening Standard s Courses section tat is fully integrated. All courses on findcourses.co.uk are automatically listed on courses.standard.co.uk too. Independent.co.uk stats: 53 million visitors a mont 60% of all visitors are from te UK Courses.Independent.co.uk Top 5 UK cities tat users are searcing in: London Mancester Birmingam Bristol Edinburg Top 5 most popular countries tat users are from: United Kingdom United States India United Arab Emirates Nigeria Standard.co.uk stats: 4.5 million visitors a mont 70% of all visitors are from te UK Courses.Standard.co.uk Top 5 UK cities tat users are searcing in: London + Sout East Birmingam Bristol Mancester Glasgow Top 5 most popular countries tat users are from: United Kingdom United States Germany France Denmark Findcourses.co.uk continues te partnersip wit te growing PR tool MyNewsdesk, wic allows our clients to broadcast teir news to more tan 40,000 business professionals - providing furter opportunities for increased exposure to an active and targeted market. Findcourses.co.uk s Matcmaking Service for Learning at Work Week Collaborating wit workplaces to elp tem find courses for teir employees on a daily basis put Findcourses.co.uk in an ideal position to raise awareness of one of te Campaign s projects, National Learning at Work Week. Tis is te biggest national celebration of learning and development in te workplace in wic tousands of organisations take part eac year and put on special events and activities, as te workplace is an ideal place to learn. Troug our matcmaking service, we put HR Managers, Learning & Development Coordinators and workplaces in contact wit relevant training providers tat are looking to take part in te week of learning. Learning at Work Week is te ideal opportunity for training providers to: Build new relationsips wit companies looking to invest in training Secure future business troug offering taster sessions wit companies Get great PR for your company troug taking part in a National Campaign Have a fun day doing te ting you love te most - training! Findcourses.co.uk elped organise 40 Learning at Work events at workplaces in 2012, and 60 in 2013 troug our Matcmaking Service. Our goal is to double tis in 2014! Training provider matcmaking feedback We ve been supporting Learning at Work for many years, and we worked wit Findcourses.co.uk for te first time and were put in touc wit tree companies. In te end we worked wit one of tese, an international clinical researc organisation and delivered a 90 minute team work session for 20 of teir staff. Te main benefit for us of taking part in Findcourses. co.uk s matcmaking was getting in front of a company wo values training. Te best bit was definitely seeing te group value te worksop and earing tat tey got a lot from te session. Tey gave us really good feedback and we are meeting wit te client to discuss furter work. We will be taking part again next year! Illumine Training

6 10 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 11 FINDCOURSES.CO.UK CO-HOSTED EVENT In 2013, togeter wit one of our training providers, Findcourses.co.uk ran an exclusive worksop and networking event. Tis type of event reflects our sound commitment to elping providers meet training buyers and our dedication to developing new services tat respond to te market s needs. OUR CUSTOM TRAINING PORTALS STREAMLINING THE PURCHASING PROCESS FOR LARGE COMPANIES About te event Organiser: Findcourses.co.uk Worksop: FranklinCovey Host: Swedis Camber of Commerce in te UK Delegates: 40 Te event was a great success, we are certainly pleased tat we partnered wit you on tis and are glad te content went down well. We gatered a lot of business cards and will be in contact wit delegates soon to discuss teir training needs. Micelle Tompkinson, FranklinCovey Extraordinary Productivity for te 21st Century Worksop In September 2013, Findcourses.co.uk osted an evening event for HR and L&D professionals togeter wit FranklinCovey in London. Taking advantage of our Swedis roots [FindCourses Global was founded in Sweden, were it continues to ave its main offices today], te event was osted in collaboration wit te Swedis Camber of Commerce in London. Delegates included te Camber s members as well as professionals from leading companies across te UK. Mattias Säker, CEO of FindCourses Global, introduced te worksop by presenting current trends in te training industry, wic included te total amount spent on training eac year by companies in te UK as well as te areas tat practitioners ave been focusing on wen buying training. Looking aead, e ten spoke about te revolution tat is currently taking place across te training industry and te future of education in te form of MOOCs. FranklinCovey s Productivity Practice Leader, Simon McGlone, continued te worksop by delivering an entertaining seminar on time management, squeezing wat is usually a 12 our training session into 40 minutes of insigts and useful tips. Guests were introduced to te igligts from te worldclass 5 Coices to Extraordinary Productivity programme, including: Acting on te important, Going for te Extraordinary, Sceduling tebig Rocks, Ruling your Tecnology and Fuelling your Fire. Te interactive worksop asked guests to evaluate ow muc of teir time is spent on urgent compared to important tasks, and elped tem to understand ow to make coices tat ave real value to tem and teir organisation. It was followed by nibbles and networking, allowing bot te participants and FranklinCovey to sare knowledge and best practice in all aspects of training and professional development. Te feedback received was extremely positive, wic as inspired us at Findcourses.co.uk to expand on tis concept in 2014 and arrange more events of tis kind. In te meantime, we would like to tank te Swedis Camber of Commerce for osting te event, FranklinCovey for te great worksop and, of course, all of te guests wo made it a torougly enjoyable evening. FindCourses PRO: A subsidiary of FindCourses Global, tat builds custom training portals for large companies. Launced in 2010, FindCourses PRO is our professional training procurement solution tat elps companies streamline teir training purcasing process and gain control over teir purcases. We build custom traning portals for large companies and represent over 2,000 training providers in te Nordic countries, te UK and Germany, and our corporate training portals are used by 500,000 professionals every mont. Te procurement process for purcasing training is often complicated and suffers from a lack of control, inadequate management and no clear overview. Companies say tey need better structures, reduced costs and more consistency in te quality of training purcases. Te solutions we offer companies are tailor-made corporate training procurement portals; customised to teir requirements, combined wit our tecnical platform and integrated into teir procurement system. Typically our portals include all te courses tat are listed on Findcourses.co.uk and teir preferred supplier list. Te portals offer companies efficient generation of purcase orders, booking autorisations and electronic invoicing, allowing managers and employees to searc, compare and book courses according to teir framework agreements. Tis is an area we are investing in eavily. Currently we ave developed portals for companies including Volvo, Swedbank, Skandia, Vasakronan, Swedis Matc, Henkel, IBM Sweden, HSB and Axel International, a list tat is set to double in 2014.

7 12 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 13 FINDCOURSES.CO.UK USERS Since launcing 5 years ago, we ve experienced significant growt across all of our sites, a trend wic we expect to continue trougout 2014/15. Reasons for tis growt are numerous, and include training buyers expecting more coices to compare and wanting up to 4 quotes from providers, as well as our improved SEO work & digital marketing knowledge. HOW USERS SEARCH FOR TRAINING To give training providers te rigt exposure, optimise te user experience on site and elp professionals find training, we continuously review searc trends and adapt to our users demands. We track our users online beaviour in order to bring tem closer to te training organisers using multiple cannels. For te second year running te number of people using our sites* doubled, a sign tat our DIGITAL MARKETING knowledge and continuing SEO work continues to strengten te position of our sites. In 2013 more tan 1.2 million unique visitors used our sites to find training and we sent more tan 30,000 Information Requests to our clients. CHANNELS REVIEWS We ave worked ard to increase te CONVERSION RATES of our sites wic as reaced an overall 5% in Tere are two main ways tat a user converts from a visitor to purcasing training; eiter by sending an enquiry (Information Request) or by clicking troug to te providers own website (Referrals). USERS Compared to last year, tere was a significant increase in te number of visitors using Findcourses.co.uk as a standalone searc engine for professional courses. Google-driven, organic traffic still accounts for te majority of traffic driven to pages on our site. In 2013, an increase in te total number of course reviews sent by Findcourses.co.uk visitors as increased te overall conversion rate. Te net increase between 2012 and 2013 is of seven percentage points, as tis year 35% of te course visitors wo read a review left an enquiry. NEW RECORD 1.2 million visitors during 2013 Direct Direct 15% 18% 28% 35% Organic Organic USER INTERACTION TRENDS INFORMATION REQUESTS REFERRALS MOBILE TRAFFIC CLICK-THROUGHS RETURNING USERS DIRECT CALLS 30,000 Information Requests 30,000 Referrals in 2013 In 2013, 23% of traffic to Findcourses.co.uk was from users viewing te site on teir mobile pones and tablets. In 2013, 2.5% of all users cose to click troug to te training providers own websites to find out more. 33% of users are returning and ave visited our sites previously to searc for courses in te last 12 monts. We conducted a pone tracking study tat sowed 5% of users used te contact information on te site to call te providers. 15% 23% 2.5% 33% 5% Please note te stats above do not account for users tat coose to ring providers directly. *Numbers include te main Findcourses.co.uk website as well as its 2 partner sites.

8 14 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 15 WHERE OUR USERS COME FROM TOP 4 COUNTRIES IN EACH CONTINENT IN TERMS OF GENERATED TRAFFIC United Kingdom 68 % London: 34% Birmingam: 4.8% Mancester: 3.6% Leeds: 2.6% Edinburg: 1.6% Seffield 1.4 % Glasgow: 1.2% Bristol: 1.2% Europe 10 % Germany: 19% France: 14% Italy: 11% Neterlands: 9% Africa 5% Nigeria: 28% Sout Africa: 17% Egypt: 10% Kenya: 7% Asia 8% India: 20% UAE: 18% Saudi Arabia: 14% Malaysia: 6% Oceania 2% Australia: 78% New Zealand: 18% Fiji: 2% Papua New Guinea: 1% Nort America 6% United States: 85% Canada: 11% Bermuda: 0.4% Greenland: 0.1% Sout America 1% Brazil: 51% Colombia: 13% Argentina: 9% Peru: 6% 68% 10% 6% Nort America Europe 8% Asia 5% Africa 1% Sout America 2% Oceania

9 16 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 17 ABOUT FINDCOURSES.CO.UK USERS As te Findcourses.co.uk website and user base grows, it becomes increasingly important to monitor our visitors beaviour and ensure tat we continue to meet teir needs. In 2013, we conducted a user survey to measure user satisfaction and gain insigts into potential improvements for te future. TRAINING CONSULTANCY Findcourses.co.uk elps individuals and organisations source and buy training wit a free training quote service. Requests are typically made by HR or L&D practitioners looking to find te most competitive training quotes for teir organisation, as well as managers and oter professionals. In 2013 we received 900 requests for more tan 10,000 people in total. REASONS FOR VISITING RECOMMENDING FINDCOURSES.CO.UK NUMBER OF COURSE PARTICIPANTS TYPE OF COURSE REQUESTED Q: Wy did you visit Findcourses.co.uk today? We wanted to identify wat users look for wen tey come to Findcourses.co.uk. As user needs multiply and become more diverse, te reasons beind teir visits cange. Q: Would you recommend Findcourses.co.uk to someone similar to yourself? Results sow tat 90% of Findcourses.co.uk users would recommend us to teir peers. Wile some users tat contact us to ask for assistance are looking for courses for temselves, a substantial and growing percentage of our quote requests are for large groups of delegates from companies looking to train several delegates, teams or entire company departments. 21% E-learning / Distance Toug te primary aim is still for individuals to find courses for temselves or teir employees (81% in total), tey are also increasingly to compare courses, get advice and read course reviews. Get advice about courses Read course reviews Yes, definitely N/A Yes, probably PER CENT 30 PER CENT PER CENT 30% 49% In-House Training Open Courses Compare courses RETURNING VISITORS 4 te average number of providers users want to compare before making a training coice Q: How often do you visit Findcourses.co.uk? On top of capturing first-time users directly from searc engine results, Findcourses.co.uk is developing an expanding base of returning users. GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION LOOKING FOR A COURSE STARTING IN... Around two tirds of all enquiries originate from te UK. Most users are looking to satisfy sort-term training needs. To find a course for myself / someone else Of te remaining users, around 8% visit to read training industry news wile 10% did not specify te purpose of teir visit. A furter 9% were looking for information regarding te possibility of listing teir courses on site. About once a mont About once a week 2 or 3 times a mont Tis is my first visit United Kingdom Overseas 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Witin a week Witin a mont Next mont It depends

10 18 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 19 WHO ARE OUR USERS? We attract a professional audience from some of te world s biggest companies. Below we present our users by te industry sector tat teir company belongs to and teir position wit teir organisation. 100 OF THE COMPANIES THAT USE FINDCOURSES.CO.UK TO PURCHASE TRAINING REGULARLY 1. 3M 2. A4e 35. DHL 36. Directgov 69. Npower 70. Octaparma Ltd 3. Accenture 37. Ericsson 71. Old Mutual Job Titles Industry Sectors 4. Allen And Overy 5. Allianz 38. Ernst & Young 39. Eurostar 72. Oriflame 73. P&G Executive 6% CEO, Director, President, Vice President, Owner, Cairman, Board Member Aerospace, Defence 2% 3% Biotecnology, Parmaceuticals, Cemicals 6. Amazon.co.uk 7. American Express 8. AstraZeneca 9. Atlas Copco 10. Aviva 11. Axel Jonson 40. Everseds 41. Exxon Mobil Corporation 42. FMC Tecnologies 43. GE 44. GE Healtcare 45. GKN Aerospace 74. Panasonic 75. Pearson 76. Premier Oil Plc 77. PricewaterouseCoopers 78. RAF 79. Rio Tinto Senior General manager, Plant manager, Regional manager, Divisional manager, Department Head Middle Manager First-line manager, Supervisor, Office manager, Department manager, Team leader, Controller Junior 22% 34% 20% Coordinator, Administrator, Advisor, Consultant, Officer, Specialist, Analyst Business & Information 15% 7% Construction, Engineering, Utilities, Electrical 9% 12% Food, Beverages, Hospitality, Tourism 4% 6% Industrial: Automotive, Manufacturing 8% 5% Communication, Media Finance & Insurance Healt services, Healtcare Law & Legal 12. BAE Systems 13. Balfour Beatty Living Places 14. Barclays Bank 15. BBC 16. BNP Paribas 17. BP 18. Britis Airways 19. Britis Army 20. BSkyB Ltd 21. BT 22. Bunzl 23. BUPA 24. Cadbury 25. Carlsberg UK 26. Centrica 27. Cannel Citigroup 29. Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd 46. GlaxoSmitKline Parmaceutical 47. Grant Tornton 48. Halliburton 49. Heineken International 50. Henkel 51. HM Forces 52. HSBC 53. J.P. Morgan Case 54. Jonson & Jonson 55. KPMG 56. Linklaters 57. Lloyds TSB 58. London Transport 59. Maersk 60. Mastercard 61. Merrill Lync 62. Metropolitan Police Service 63. Ministry of Defence 80. Rolls-Royce 81. SABIC 82. Royal Navy 83. Saudi Petrocemical Company 84. Siemens 85. Sony Music 86. Sout West Water 87. Soutern Gas Construction 88. Standard Life UK 89. Statoil 90. Tesco Plc 91. Tames Water 92. Te Royal Bank of Scotland 93. Te Walt Disney Company 94. TOTAL 95. Tullow Oil 96. UNICEF 97. Unilever Entry Level Operational employee, Secretary, Assistant, Associate, Operator, Trainee 18% Power, Energy, Oil & Gas, Mining, Transportation 5% 16% Telecommunication, Tecnology, IT 30. Cooperative Bank 31. Deloitte 32. Department for Work and Pensions 33. Dept of Education & Cildren 34. Deutsce Bank 64. Nat West Bank Group 98. United Nations 65. Network Rail 99. Vodafone Group 66. NHS 100. Volvo 67. Nortern Petroleum Plc 68. Novataris Please note tat tis list is not exaustive, and is just a sample, organised alpabetically.

11 20 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 21 HOW OUR USERS SEARCH & FIND YOUR TRAINING COURSES Directing relevant traffic to your courses is our main focus, and as Google is te most constant, preferred platform to source training online, we develop our sites to appeal to teir algoritms. Our main site and media partners sites, offer users a broad platform to browse, compare and review training programmes and get in touc wit reputable training providers. ORGANIC SEARCH RESULTS account for most of te traffic driven to Findcourses.co.uk. Our site is well positioned in Google for te majority of our keywords associated wit professional development training courses. We bring professional development courses in front of te rigt audience via SEO. By dedicating extensive researc to optimising on-site content, following latest online marketing trends and te demand in te training industry, we create and optimise te connection between training buyers and providers. A typical user journey A user searces on Google for CAD training courses often in combination wit a location, course delivery type or level of qualification. From te first page of searc results, te user selects course pages belonging to Findcourses.co.uk or to our partner sites.. STEP 1 We focus on ig quality content and platform optimisation to drive relevant, organic traffic to course pages. To get more details about te course, te user can eiter send an Information Request on Findcourses. co.uk, click troug to te training provider s own website or get in touc wit te provider directly by pone. STEP 1 STEP 3 STEP 2 Tis leads te user onto te relevant page of project management courses on Findcourses.co.uk. Te user ten filters and compares te results based on location, delivery mode, course lengt, start date and price. Typically users compare 1 to 4 courses, by looking at te content and reviews to determine suitability. STEP 3 POPULAR AREAS OF TRAINING TRAINING CATEGORIES Business & Management 10.22% 10.26% 8.65% 9.39% 2. Finance 10.18% 10.67% 8.69% 6.70% 3. IT - Pro 9.24% 9.66% 8.99% 10.77% 4. Teacer & Instructor Training 7.53% 5.24% 3.98% 4.40% 5. Office / Admin / PA 6.29% 3.77% 2.45% 2.61% 6. Healt & Safety 4.28% 4.49% 6.32% 8.65% 7. Law & Legal 3.79% 3.66% 3.22% 3.18% 8. Human Resources 3.75% 4.12% 3.97% 3.09% 9. Healt & Social Care 3.71% 9.62% 11.87% 10.71% 10. Purcasing / Procurement 3.48% 3.06% 3.23% 3.10% 11. Quality Assurance & Auditing 3.29% 2.82% 2.52% 2.22% 12. Oil & Gas 2.84% 0.84% n/a n/a 13. Energy 2.77% 0.77% 0.82% n/a 14. Project Management 2.65% 2.17% 1.70% 1.92% 15. Personal Development 2.49% 2.48% 2.03% 2.19% 16. IT Design / Multimedia 2.33% 1.32% 2.23% 3.28% 17. IT User 2.31% 1.70% 1.64% 1.56% 18. Sales 2.14% 1.71% 1.06% 2.53% 19. Hospitality & Tourism 2.02% 0.85% 1.06% 2.53% 20. Communication Skills 1.86% 1.15% 1.06% n/a 21. Coacing 1.84% 1.93% 1.65% 1.30% 22. Engineering/Industry 1.56% 0.92% 1.37% 1.56% 23. Real Estate/Property Management 1.20% 0.64% 0.47% n/a 24. MBA 1.15% 1.59% 2.12% 1.70% 25. Insurance 1.02% 1.06% 1.58% 1.99% 26. Communications & Media 0.98% 0.11% 0.10% 0.12% 27. Science & Researc 0.86% 2.58% 3.22% 0.44% 28. Marketing 0.79% 0.66% 0.81% 1.24% 29. Information Management 0.78% 0.55% 0.77% 1.05% 30. Negotiation 0.78% 0.43% 0.64% 0.39% 31. Construction 0.49% 2.92% 2.61% 3.77% 32. Security 0.42% 0.30% 0.35% 0.54% 33. Design 0.36% 1.16% 1.83% 2.04% 34. Languages 0.35% 0.58% 0.74% 0.95% 35. Veterinary & Animal Care 0.24% 0.13% 0.31% 0.21% *Percentages reflect page views distribution by category. Adjustments to te previous years stats reflect canges to te on-site category structure

12 22 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 23 TOP 10 MOST POPULAR COURSES THE MOST VIEWED COURSES BY TRAINING DELIVERY MODE IN 2013 ATTITUDES TOWARDS TRAINING Employees make training decisions Taken from our Question of te Mont Surveys As training providers continuously expand teir training catalogues and coose to list teir courses on Findcourses.co.uk, tis year s top 10 lists give an accurate picture of market demand and reflect ow professionals training requirements ave canged over te year. Open / Classroom Courses 1. A1 Assessor Award Level 3 In House / Customised Training 1. Best Practice in Purcasing & Procurement Wo s in carge of training decisions in UK businesses? According to our researc, in just over a tird of cases (34%) it is employees temselves wo take on tis responsibility, followed by senior managers (25%). Surprisingly, HR professionals were identified as tose least likely to ave an influence on training decisions (11%), followed by first line managers (15%). Anoter 15% claimed it varies depending on te situation. Wo makes training decisions in your organisation? Employees It depends 15% HR 11% First line managers 15% Senior managers 25% 34% 2. Healt & Social Care NVQ Level 2 2. Supervisory Skills for Managers 3. Office Administration 3. ISO 9001 Internal Auditing Dedicating free time to training 4. Certificate in HR Administration 5. Assertiveness & Personal Confidence 6. Project Management Certificate - PMP 7. Finance for Non-Finance Managers 8. Asbestos BOHS P402 & P405 Combined 9. Procurement & Contract Management 10. Introduction to SQL 4. Communication Skills 5. Excel for Finance 6. Project Management 7. Managers Development Programme 8. International Financial Reporting Standards 9. Operations Management 10. Vendor Relationsip Management Wen asked weter tey would take a professional development course in teir free time, 72% of users responded tat tey definitely would. Togeter wit te 22% wo answered tat tey would tink about it, tat makes 94% of professionals wo are willing to develop teir vocational skills in teir free time. Only 3% responded tat tey would definitely not do so, wit te remaining 3% defining te possibility as unlikely (but not impossible). Would you take a professional development course in your free time? Yes, maybe Yes, definitely No, probably not No, definitely not 3% 3% 22% 72% Rise of online learning Executive Education Programmes 1. Master of Public Healt (MPH) 2. MSc in Operations & Supply Cain Management 3. MSc in Project Management 4. Te Warwick MBA 5. MSc in Purcasing & Supply Cain e-learning / Online / Distance Courses 1. Business & Administration Level 2 Certificate 2. Property Development 3. AutoCAD 2012 Beginner to Advanced 4. Higer Level Teacing Assistant HLTA 5. Payroll Tecnician Certificate Different needs call for different learning metods, but most individuals (and organisations) will ave a preference wen it comes to te type of training tey undertake. At te beginning of 2013, we investigated te matter and found tat a majority (58%) prefer distance or online courses: more tan all oter types of courses combined. Open courses were te second favourites (14%), followed by in-ouse (10%), weekend courses (8%) and finally, evening courses (7%). Wat type of training do you prefer to participate in? In-ouse course Open course Distance / online course Weekend couse Evening course 8% 7% 10% 13% 58% 6. Msc in International Management (Oil & Gas) 7. Te Warwick MBA Global Energy 6. Logistics and Transport Level 2 Certificate 7. BTEC Healt & Social Care Studies (HND) Career cange in te air 8. MA Marketing Communications 9. MBA in te Global Food Industry 10. MBA in Project Management 8. Personal Assistant Level 2 Diploma 9. Cildcare Level 3 Diploma 10. Project Finance Te desire to cange careers as always been a strong motivating factor wen it comes to professional training. In May 2013, we tus aimed to find out just ow many professionals out tere are tinking about a career cange in te next few years. A very noteworty 82% if our users responded tat tey were eiter definitely or probably looking to move on to pastures new. Only 6% claimed tey would absolutely not be looking to cange professions, wile 4% ad not tougt about it. Are you considering a career cange in te next few years? Yes, probably Yes, definitely No, I don't tink so Haven't tougt about it Absolutely not 4% 6% 8% 18% 64%

13 24 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 25 PROVIDER SURVEY Tis European survey took place in December 2013 and examines te trends in te training industry over te last 12 monts. Te results are based on responses from 437 training providers in te UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Higligts from te training provider bencmark survey Te future looks brigt for training providers across Europe Providers across Europe expect teir turnover to increase during 2014 Te UK is most positive about te coming year In-House Training will be te focus area for te majority of providers Open courses will make up te smallest proportion of UK providers business Most providers will keep te price of teir training stable trougout 2014 Te majority of providers will be maintaining te same marketing budget Most training providers do not ave a functioning mobile adapted site - and most don t know ow muc of teir traffic is mobile How as your turnover canged in 2013 compared to 2012? UK Germany Scandinavia Increased 65% 67% 46% Remained te same 22% 22% 26% Decreased 13% 11% 28% How do you tink your turnover will cange in 2014 compared to 2013? UK Germany Scandinavia Increase 79% 70% 53% Remain te same 19% 22% 35% Decrease 2% 8% 12% Wic area of training do you expect to focus more of your business on in 2014? UK Germany Scandanavia Open / Public Courses 26% 28% 28% In-House / Customised 40% 53% 55% E-Learning / Online 34% 19% 17% How will te price of your training courses cange over te next 6 monts? UK Germany Scandinavia Increase 32% 16% 26% Remain te same 65% 78% 66% Decrease 3% 6% 8% How will your marketing budget cange in 2014 compared to 2013? UK Germany Scandinavia Increase 29% 33% 18% Remain te same 57% 57% 68% Decrease 14% 10% 14% Were do you currently spend te greatest percentage of your marketing budget? UK Germany Scandinavia Online Marketing 63% 58% 47% Do you ave a mobile adapted website? UK Germany Scandinavia Yes 40% 25% 28% No 37% 44% 51% Partly 23% 31% 21% How many of your website visitors are using a mobile device? UK Germany Scandinavia 0% 6% 6% 3% 10-20% 33% 30% 18% 30-40% 14% 15% 10% 50% or more 0% 7% 12% Don t know 47% 45% 57% Wat are te biggest callenges in 2014? Most training providers across Europe are facing similar callenges. As identified by respondents to our survey, ere are te biggest obstacles facing te training industry going forward: UK Reacing te rigt audience Standing out from te competition Exploiting tecnology and digital platforms Germany Finding new cannels Competition Investing in e-learning Sweden Online marketing Finding te rigt cannels Investing in e-learning Denmark Finding te rigt cannels Reacing te target audience in a better way Competition Finland Reacing te rigt audience Te economic situation Competition

14 26 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 27 DIGITAL TRENDS ONLINE AND MOBILE MARKETING - OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES During 2013, digital marketing activity witnessed a boost in terms of increased spending and evolving online consumer beaviour. As investments in mobile tecnology and mobile marketing continue to grow, tere are new cannels and devices were you can market your services. Investments in Marketing across Different Platforms As new learning tecnologies continue to emerge, it s more important tan ever to ensure tat your training offer meets te users increased expectations in terms of training mobility. Innovative learning platforms focused on iger flexibility in professional training attracted te most significant investments from corporate training buyers in THE MOBILE REVOLUTION More visitors tan ever before are using teir mobile devices to searc for and compare training programmes. Wile migrating from desktop to mobile, users also embrace new, mobile learning modes, wic are adapted to teir professional development needs and online routines. DESKTOP USE SITE VISITORS DISTRIBUTION Te cart sows te evolution of site visits by te type of device used, comparing desktop and mobile use between January 2011 and February Site use by device Launcing a competitive mobile learning product and marketing it in front of te rigt audiences will remain key during te next few years. Te trend is embraced by te most competitive companies in te training industry, wo adapted bot teir products and teir marketing platform to be increasingly mobileoriented. According to an emarketer Report (Marc 2014), it is expected tat mobile spending will top tat of newspapers for te first time in 2014 and will be comparable wit spending on all UK print media combined. Mobile marketing will account for more tan a sixt of te total media spending during A steep increase in mobile marketing is expected by 2015, wen te overall mobile marketing spending will exceed print media advertising, at 21% of all spending. For te training industry, growing attention to new advertising means more cannels available to market courses and professional development options, wic are aligned wit te buyers expectations. Online, Google-powered marketing troug SEO continues to be a top coice among providers. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION remains a top coice among online marketing tools, wic ensures a sustained, organic visibility in front of te relevant audience. In 2013, te most important Google updates steering SEO marketing - Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird - favoured web pages wit ig quality, informative content for te user, interlinked wit oter quality websites. Te Hummingbird update in particular focused on adapting te relevance of searc results to te natural language used for searces, wic replicate te mobile voice searc. SEO marketers adapted teir strategies to incorporate tese trends and bring teir featured pages to te top of te list of searc results. GOOGLE+ leads social media cannels in terms of SEO benefit, as Google s own social network. G+ features, suc as te autorsip widget, elp promote users fres input and conversational knowledge. For te professional training market, LinkedIn remains te preferred tool for membersip and networking. CONTENT MARKETING supports Google s preference for ig quality content wic is relevant to te user. Over te last year, tere as been a growing tendency to incorporate content marketing as an add-on to online marketing campaigns, ensuring brand prominence and market recognition troug extensive informative content. MOBILE USE SUCCESSFUL MOBILE SITE LAUNCH FOR FINDCOURSESES.CO.UK In 2013 Findcourses.co.uk launced a mobile version of our site tat allows users to quickly and easily find courses and send an enquiry from mobile devices. At te end of last year, our first customers migrated teir websites to a mobile solution provided by Findcourses. co.uk, wic as significantly improved teir traffic, conversion rate and user experience. Before mobile conversion After mobile conversion Information Requests 4.72% 6.09% Pone number clicks 0.48% 4.5% Pages per visit Time on site 01:32 min 02:14 min Desktop 77% Mobile 13% Tablet 10%

15 28 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 29 MOBILE-FRIENDLY VS. MOBILE-EXCLUSIVE A growing number of users prefer mobile devices to desktop computers for most online activities, mainly due to general availability on te market and te personalised experience delivered by smartpones and tablets. As mobile devices become more common among users of all ages, a parallel trend in te mobile revolution emerges: using mobiles as te primary, or te exclusive, online surfing device. In te UK, 15% of te audience using mobile tecnology are mobile-only ouseolds, according to te latest online marketing report released by Ofcom (August 2013). Te general prediction for te next years is tat mobile tecnology will exceed and displace, rater tan complement, desktop use. Te trend is confirmed by te mobile users of Findcourses. co.uk during te top monts for sourcing training. In January and September wen corporate training buyers plan te professional development for te upcoming terms, a visible increase of mobile use is correlated wit an increase in In House training popularity. Searcing for distance learning programmes is strongly correlated wit mobile use, more evidently over te Summer monts, wen users are on te move or away from teir ome computers. NO SECOND CHANCE AT A FIRST IMPRESSION Development of mobile-optimised websites as fallen beind te quick increase of mobile users and teir expectations in terms of usability. Tere are callenges to te mobile adaptation, particularly wen accessing desktop version of websites on mobile devices. Users often become frustrated wit content readability, clicking links and on-page orizontal scrolling. Te sare of returning visitors using mobile devices depends largely on solving tese usability problems. A recent study by EPiServer as sown tat 70% percent of mobile users do not return to a mobile site tat is difficult to navigate. 15% of mobile users in te UK are mobile-exclusive Top frustrations wit online mobile use: 1. Difficult to click on te links 2. Difficult to read te texts 3. Slow loading time Today businesses witout a mobile-optimised site ave more callenges in standing out from teir competitors. Users often associate brand performance wit te experience delivered by teir online platforms, especially after te first contact. A good first impression is crucial in attracting and maintaining a loyal audience and consolidating brand trustwortiness. Companies wo market teir services online can no longer rely on te mobile user turning to teir desktop computer to seal te deal. All tat te user needs to know must be available and ready to use in mobile. MOBILE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TRAINING INDUSTRY More and more people use smartpones or tablets to searc for training, bot in te workplace and at ome. To meet te expectations of teir target audience, training companies adapt to te trend and concentrate on delivering te optimal mobile experience: bot in terms of te type of training delivered and te mobile exposure in front of teir users, troug optimised mobile websites and mobile marketing campaigns. Wit te rise of te mobile tecnology available for learning, corporate training buyers experiment wit new course platforms and training delivery types. MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses), open source training resources, gamebased learning, BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and flipped classrooms are among te most preferred in A large sare of online and distance learning providers ave adapted teir platforms to incorporate tese new mobile-centred tecnologies. To present a competitive training offer, and simplify te decision making process for te buyer, it s no longer enoug to ave a mobile-friendly website. Te platforms on wic you present your training portfolio - your own website and your online marketing cannels - need to ave te complete functionality for mobile browsing devices. To get closer teir mobile users and optimise conversion rates from online marketing, training companies cannel teir investments towards mobile conversion. Top mobile-centred learning tecnologies in Massively Open Online Courses 2. Bring Your Own Device 3. Open source training GOOGLE FAVOURS MOBILE-OPTIMISED WEBSITES A mobile-optimised website is not only beneficial to te user, but also crucial to ow te product is presented in searc results. Google as announced on its official blog a searc algoritm preference for mobile-optimised websites, wic will favour tem in te next round of updates. Te upcoming updates will re-rank searc results based on teir mobile adaptability, wit te goal of enancing te user experince. DO YOU HAVE A MOBILE VERSION OF YOUR WEBSITE? Last year s customer survey as revealed tat only a small percentage of our training providers run a mobile version of teir own websites. Joining te community of training providers on Findcourses.co.uk ensures tat all your course listings are optimised for mobile.

16 30 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 31 MULTICHANNEL REACH Hig conversion rates from your marketing campaign are most often supported by multiple cannels. Below you can find a representation of various pats tat users follow before leaving an Information Request on Findcourses.co.uk. Statistics are extracted from our Google Analytics data and reflect user beaviour trends during FEEDBACK FROM OUR USERS To ensure our users are satisfied wit our service we send tem a follow-up questionnaire two weeks after tey ave sent an Information Request troug Findcourses.co.uk to a training provider. Teir feedback elps providers to keep track of teir enquiries and improve teir conversion rate. CONVERGING CHANNELS INDIRECT SEARCH PATHS How to convert leads: wat do users want? Tere are tree cannels troug wic a user can land on on Findcourses.co.uk to ten send an Information Request. Google searc Link in a direct Information Request Direct traffic www. Te sare of entry cannels to te site wic account for te generated leads on Findcourses.co.uk in % Link 78% Google Searc 26% Direct No two users are te same and wat works for some may not work for oters. Te most important ting is always to listen to wat te potential client wants and try to address teir queries or concerns as clearly and directly as possible. Our researc sows tat more tan alf of our users (68%) are looking to start a course witin (at most) 1 mont of teir visit, so timeliness in responding to requests is absolutely critical. Tis is particularly te case wit bespoke and in-ouse requests, wic naturally take longer to discuss, organise and deliver. In most cases, users appreciate te more personal nature of a pone call and te possibility to speak to someone directly. But te biggest no-no, regardless of weter contact is made by or telepone, is asking te user to get in touc wit you. Tis gives te impression tat teir enquiry is not important to you and complicates te logistics of te infromation-gatering process unnecessarily. A large number of training providers responded to my request and te ones wo contacted me giving all te information I requested were te most elpful. Te ones wo continually left requests for me to contact tem, or asked to meet, were te least preferred due to te time factor involved in agreeing to tis. THE MOST COMMON SEARCH PATTERNS Tere are some typical searc steps tat users follow prior to sending an Information Request. Te sequence of steps varies in order and is largely reliant on Google searces Google Searc Google Searc Direct traffic Google Searc Link Direct traffic Google Searc Direct traffic Direct traffic Google Searc Direct traffic INTERACTION WITH THE SITE User interaction wit te site prior to making an Information Request. One-time interaction 72% Two interactions 17% Tree interactions 6% Four interactions 3% Five interactions 0.9% HAVE YOU BEEN CONTACTED / RECEIVED INFORMATION? Yes, tey ave sent me information by 57% 53% Yes, tey ave called me 26% 25% No, I ave not been contacted or any received info 17% 22% HAVE YOU RECEIVED ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED? Yes, I received all te information I need 80% 84% No, I ave not received all te info I need 20% 16% ARE YOU GOING TO BOOK THE COURSE / TRAINING? I ave already applied / started 26% 23% I ave decided to apply 32% 29% I am still tinking about it 30% 37% No, te course wasn t suitable 12% 11%

17 32 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 33 RECOMMENDATIONS Wen you list on Findcourses.co.uk, our team supports you in acieving te best results from your marketing campaign. Following our recommendations, you can increase your exposure, get more leads, and improve your overall performance. Get te most out of your marketing campaign Coose te rigt courses Write unique course descriptions PUBLISHING 1 If you do not promote all of your courses wit us, we can elp you decide wic ones to select to get better results. Reacing a balance between your most popular courses and your newly launced ones, or signature programmes is key wen it comes to making a selection. Once in te spotligt, your most popular topics will drive traffic to te profile overall and in turn to your less successful ones as well. 2 Since Google values unique, ig quality content, it s essential tat te course overview is not an exact duplicate of te description you ave on your own website. It is also important to researc and add keywords tat replicate users language in Google searces and course-specific terminology. Unique content is te most important factor in terms of aving a successful marketing campaign. 36% 17% 92% OPTIMISING Keep your course information updated 3 Your listings sould include up-to-date information and be consistent wit te information listed on your website. Users often decide to send an enquiry based on course specifics suc as course start date, location, costs and it s important tat all of tese details are available on your Findcourses.co.uk profile. Add reviews to your courses Book extra service campaigns for your top monts 5 Get in touc wit us to discuss wic type of campaign is optimal for your profile and wen is te best time to launc it. Weter you want to book a front page ad, category sponsorsip and or an campaign, we can guide you to coose te package tat drives te best results. Link to your Findcourses.co.uk profile increase in results by updating your courses wit start dates, location and prices. increase in te number of views on your courses and a iger SEO position by adding a link to your profile. of site visitors say tat reviews are important to teir decision making process wen buying training. 4 Te importance of reviews connected to all forms of learning as increased lately and contributes to your positioning in Google. Moreover, wen users rely on a tird party s opinion, teir decision time is improved and are more likely to send an enquiry. 6 Course providers wo link to teir profiles from teir own websites ave noticed a 17% increase in information requests. Te link elps increase your position in Google searc results and drives relevant traffic to your courses, in turn elping conversions. Get more leads by adding reviews GET THE LINK Select te link to your course review section from your Findcourses.co.uk profile and add it to your website. FOLLOW UP Follow your leads 7 F ollow up on your leads as soon as possible to ensure ig conversion rate, ideally witin 24 ours. Potential training buyers are more likely to close te deal if you call tem soon after tey ve sent teir Information Request. It s essential tat you respond to te users specific questions to elp tem make a decision about booking your services. Analyse your results 8 E x ploring your statistical reports will elp you understand wo your audience is and ow tey interact wit your profile and your brand overall. Data about views, referral traffic to your site and organisations tat your viewers come from will elp you better understand te demands of te training industry. CONTACT YOUR COURSE PARTICIPANTS Send te review page link to your course delegates, asking tem to rate and comment on teir training experience. GET REVIEWS Reviews submitted by your course attendees are moderated and publised live on your Findcourses.co.uk profile, after wic you can coose to respond to teir comments.

18 34 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 35 ONLINE MARKETING CASE STUDIES Findcourses.co.uk is more tan just a listing site, wit more tan 13 years of experience in te training industry, we pride ourselves on listening to our clients needs and callenges, and creating tailored marketing solutions tat get returns on teir investment and generate new business. CLIENT TESTIMONIALS Here is some of te feedback we ave received from our clients during From our account managers to our in-ouse editors, te entire Findcourses.co.uk team strives to elp our customers wit a professional, efficient and prompt level of customer service. We make sure all needs are met. Case Study 1: Increased exposure and conversion rates wit more courses PROVIDER TYPE: Business & Finance training SERVICES: Basic listing, Social Media, Reviews NO. OF COURSES: Increased from 10 to 30 SUMMARY: Tis provider initially started by listing 10 of teir courses on Findcourses.co.uk as tey were interested to understand te quality of te audience, as well as te leads tat were generated. Te provider decided at renewal tat our service warranted an increase in spending, in order to increase teir return. Te Account Manager recommended increasing te number of courses from 10 to teir full portfolio of 30 courses. Te provider received a 210% increase in exposure, leading to increased visibility and, terefore, a 112% increase in information requests. Case Study 2: Te real value of leads, referral traffic and pone calls PROVIDER TYPE: Online qualification courses SERVICES: Basic listing, Video, Reviews, Front Page Ads NO. OF COURSES: 20 RESULTS: 210% increase on Views, 112% increase in Information Requests CONVERSION RATE: 2.6% 10 courses Views 30 courses RESULTS: 187 Information Requests, 137 Referrals and 50 Pone Calls over 12 monts 10 courses Info Requests 30 courses CONVERSION RATE: 15%, 72,000 in total business Working wit Findcourses.co.uk as been seamless from start to finis, customer care and service as been excellent and we ave found te service to be professional and more importantly, wortwile. We receive a ealty amount of leads, wic are good quality and also reac a market we can t always ourselves. Te return on investment is te reason wy we are working wit findcourses.co.uk for a second year running! Ceryl McClorey Marketing & Business Development, MDT International "I ave been very impressed wit Findcourses.co.uk as a wole. Te team was quick to add our courses to te website and are always willing to make additional canges at sort notice. Tey also keep in contact regularly and draw my attention to any important matters. I ave to say tis level of customer service and attention to detail really makes tem stand out. Furtermore, we ave received a number of leads and generated some important conversions. Over te past few years, we ave dealt wit many different affiliate sites and tere is no doubt in my mind tat Findcourses is one of te best. I look forward to continuing to work closely wit Findcourses in te future." Jon Stevens Marketing Manager, London Corporate Training "Having worked wit Findcourses for a number of years I ave found tem incredibly insigtful into our partnersip and tey ave managed to really understand te importance of return on investment for bot parties. Tey ave provided great results and tis as meant I ave used tem wile working for 2 different businesses, a testament to te success of te investment. Te team are also a pleasure to work wit." Anita Kinrade Senior Product Marketing Manager, Home Learning College "Te overall process of advertising our courses wit Findcourses could not ave been simpler, and we ave found te level of service to be outstanding. Te team worked effortlessly to ensure tat our online content was set up in a way to maximise visibility and we are able to tweak wording, pricing and new course dates troug te customer login section. On average, we would say inexcess of 75% of all of te leads tat we ave ad ave resulted in at least one delegate booking - and many of tem ave been In House bookings. Tis is a fantastic return on investment for our business and as as far surpassed te initial set up cost and indeed our initial expectations of te service. Alex Sammut Director, ISAC (UK) Ltd SUMMARY: A yearly analysis of te service revealed tat wile leads were te biggest source of income (77%), te referral traffic tat also turned into business equalled anoter 16,000. Tis represented 23% of te total sales over te year. By understanding te audience, we were able to streamline te visitor journey wit te Front Page Adverts, engage wit tem troug Social Media Referral Traffic Pone Calls Information Requests We are very impressed at te way Findcourses.co.uk ave dealt wit us from start to finis, I don t tink you could ave been any more elpful, and it was mainly down to your excellent attitude, clear descriptions, and confidence in te service you were selling, tat we decided to go wit you guys. "I am very excited to see ow tis new venture will work for us. I ave been very impressed wit your service to date and ave every confidence tat tis is te rigt move for our business. Tank you for your elp and professionalism over te last couple of days and I very muc look forward to working wit you." and Video, and reassure tem of te quality of te service troug Peer to Peer reviews. Tis allowed us to deliver stronger returns as well as compreensively allowing te client to understand te true ROI. Olly Tom Marketing Director, CTJT Denise Courtney Director, Courtney Associates

19 36 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 37 USER TESTIMONIALS Here is some of te feedback we ave received from te users and training buyers tat use our sites to source training providers and coose courses. As well as te people using our sites to source training, we also receieve s, telepone calls and speak to people on our online cat regularly. SUPPORTING MARY S LIBRARY HELPING RESIDENTS OF HOMA BAY GAIN ACCESS TO EDUCATION FindCourses Global continues to support Mary s Library toug elping people gain access to education for teir development. During 2014 we aim to elp Mary s Library become a sustainable enterprise and meaningful resource for students and residents. Hi Findcourses.co.uk, tanks for your assistance on te pone and troug s last week to elp me find training for our group muc appreciated. Te providers you listed made contact wit me, discussed my needs and provided proposals great service. Te committee ave cosen someone now and I ave let te organisations know were we are at. Tanks again for your elp. I ad never really tougt about te possibility of aving one place online were I could find all te training I need. Wen I saw your stand at Learning & Skills tis year, I was drawn by your company name and decided to stop by. And I m so glad I did! You ve made wat was an extremely timeconsuming part of my job muc easier and I am very grateful for te support I regularly get from your team, especially wen I am looking to source training in areas tat are not as familiar to me. About Mary s Library, Homa Bay Mary s Library, formed in October 2005, is te result of a sustainable development project wit Homa Bay local Mary Ojijo and Findcourses.co.uk employee Mark Smit. FindCourses Global as been supporting te library since 2012 and due to growing demand te library was moved to bigger premises in 2013, elping more tan 4,000 members. It is te only public library wit a stable internet connection in te region. Crissy, HR Manager I ad a great experience using your website - everyting was streamlined, easy to use and te providers got back to me quickly. In fact, we ve already booked training for our annual conference. Bet, L&D Coordinator Denise, Training & Development Coordinator Tank you to all te team at Findcourses.co.uk for elping us source team leadersip programmes for our staff. I wouldn t ave known were to start looking, so your service is brilliant. Martin, IT Manager HOMA BAY as rougly 55,000 inabitants, and is located in western Kenya, an area tat as been described as a microcosm for te entire continent of Africa. Te region suffers from some of te country s lowest levels of ealtcare and education and is plagued wit environmental problems. Mary s Library offers te ceapest internet access in Homa Bay, so tat even te poorest residents can benefit. So far te internet as led to significant improvements for te local communit, symbolising growt & a forward-tinking enterprise. Support from Findcourses.co.uk in 2013 went to: Dear Findcourses, You re site as been a real time-saver in my searc for a Time Management course. Muc tanks! Madeline Tis is one of te most professional sites of its kind, it s easy to use, clear and informative and really elpful. Tomas FindCourses Global s support Users of Findcourses.co.uk elp support Mary s Library by responding to a feedback questionnaire about teir course enquires, and writing course reviews. For eac response/review we receive, a donation to Mary s Library is made to provide a better service for te residents of Homa Bay. Purcasing 5 computers Installing internet connection for all computers Employing a computer tutor Relocation to bigger premises Findcourses.co.uk s support in 2014 will go to: Maintaining and purcasing new computers I stumbled upon tis service witout even realizing wat it was after looking around for options for training courses online. I was searcing for a Quark XPress training and found tat your site offers so muc more. It s great tat you can compare courses and see everyting tat is available. I mentioned it to my HR manager a couple of monts ago and se s been using it ever since. Tanks for making me look good! Many tanks for all your support. After aving spent te last two weeks searcing for te rigt course, te advice and courses you suggested got me exactly wat I needed. I was able to get in touc wit reliable trainers wo elped me make a decision. Now I just wanted to drop you a line to tell you I m starting my course next Monday, also got my work placement and wanted to tank you for making tis easier for me. Ceers, I ll tell my colleagues to contact you if tey need any training advice. Increasing bandwidt & maintaining a stable connection Providing computer lessons & tutorials Meeting te needs of university students Future goals Te long-term goal for Mary s Library is to continue its growt and development to create a sustainable model, in wic te library is financially independent and managed entirely by te people of Homa Bay. Micael, Grapic Designer Sandra, Controller Mary s Library will elp promote te value of education to tose wit te least access to it. FindCourses Global sares tese goals and believes woleeartedly in te vision of education as te engine for cange in te world.

20 38 TRAINING BAROMETER TRAINING BAROMETER 39 PROVIDERS MARKETING WITH US Below are some of te training providers tat we work wit, and wose training courses we market on Findcourses.co.uk to a targeted audience of training buyers across our searc engines. A E A & C Consultants ABB UK ABC Emergency Aid Training Aberdeen Drilling Scool Able Skills Ltd Academy Class Academy for Transpersonal Coacing & Training Accounts Training ACF Consultants Acorn Environmental Healt & Safety Acudemy AGR TRACS Training Alcumus - ISOQAR Compliance Akuro Limited Alistair Bromead Apis Training Appetite for Learning Ardine Training Armada Occupational Safety & Healt Asbestos Control & Abatement Division (ACAD) Aslib, Te Association for Information Management Assist KD Association of Corporate Treasurers Astutis Babington Business College Best Foot Forward Training Best Training Solutions BG Consulting Bond Solon Bradley Environmental Consultants Bridgwater College Brigt International Training Brigton Scool of Business and Management Britis Red Cross BSI Learning UK Bunnyfoot Bureau Veritas Training UK Business Learning Foundation Business Management Training Group Business Services Support Bywater Training Cadassist CADline Cambridge Management Services Capita Learning & Development Cardboard Citizens Cavara CBES Central Law Training Cange Quest Carles Bloe Training Cartered Institute of Arbitrators Cartered Institute of Logistics & Transport Cartered Institute of Payroll Professionals Cartered Institute of Purcasing & Supply Cartered Insurance Institute Cartered Quality Institute Ceerful Training Solutions CIPD Training City Academy City West Housing Trust Clarion Training Coacing Direct Coacing for Cange Collective Leadersip Institute Construction Study Centre Corporate Coac Group Corporate Training Partnersips Courtney Associates CP Training Consortium CrossKnowledge UK CUPE Ltd CTJT CWC Scool for Energy Decorative Plastering UK Deleb Professionals Distance Learning Centre Distance Learning College UK DJH International Tax DPG plc DSM Training E-Careers Ecole oteliere de Lausanne edistance Learning Ellison-Webb Training Energy Future Engineering Institute of Tecnology Enviatics ESI International Etan Hataway Eureka Financial Euromoney Energy Euromoney Financial Training Euromoney Legal Training European University Barcelona Excel Partnersip Exponential Training & Assessment F K Falconbury Financial Fluency Financial Training Associates Firedragon Coacing First Friday First Medical Training Fitc Training For Dummies - A Wiley Brand FQM FranklinCovey FSTP GBC Learning & Development GBS Corporate Training Global College Malta Global Knowledge UK Global Management Academy Gold Edge Training Goldtrowel Great Heigts Training Happy Harpar Professional Development Training Hastam Hemsley Fraser Henley Business Scool Herrick International Hertfordsire Business Scool Home Learning College Host Computers HOT Engineering Hult International Business Scool Hutwaite International Informa IASeminars IBC Academy IFF - International Faculty of Energy IFF - International Faculty of Finance IIL - International Institute for Learning IIR Middle East Illumine Training IMF Academy Impartica Training Imperial College London Incisive Training Instant Training Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation Instituto Europeo di Design International Business House International Career Institute International Coacing Academy International Compliance Training IPD IQMS Institute of Risk Management Ironclad Strategy ISAC (UK) Istituto Europeo di Design ITB Competence Assurance IT Online Learning Jellyfis JSB Training & Development JustASC K2 Velosi Kaplan Altior Kaplan Hawksmere KB Associates Keystone Learning Systems KP Training & Consulting Kwintessential KFA Medical L M LDL - Leadersip Development Leadersip in Action Learning247 Lewis College Lexis Nexis - Payroll Alliance Live and Learn Consultancy London Academy of IT London Corporate Training London College of Contemporary Arts London Financial Studies London Scool of Business and Finance London Scool of Economics and Political Science LRQA - Lloyd s Register Quality Assurance lynda.com Lynwood Consultancy Services Man and Macine Maynard Leig Associates MDA Training MDT International Medway Safety Limited Millennium City Academy MJM Energy MIS Training Institute MLP Training Morgan & Wolfe Natas Training National Council for te Training of Journalists NCC Home Learning NEWHSE NExT Training - A Sclumberger Company Open Study College Opposite Leg Orbital Training & Consulting Oxford College Oxford Summer Scool P S Parallel Project Training Paramount Learning Pass Training Consultancy Pearson in Practice PEICE Pera Training Pendle Consultants PetroEdge Asia PetroSkills Pillips ROI Institute Pitman Training - London Holborn Pitman Training - London City Pitman Training - Mancester PMI - Process Management International PMS - Purcasing Management Services PNE Development Possitive Purcasing Primary Care Training Centre Project Associates PTP Training & Marketing Quorum Training RB Services Group Ready Writer Realselling Sales Training Redcliffe Training Associates Reed Learning PLC Resource Development International Results Driven Group Risk Reward Robert Gordon University Rosetta Stone Senergy Training UK Serene Communications SABSA Courses Scool Courses and Career Development Searcligt SecuoS Sentinel Management Consultants SGS Academy SHADO Sarp End Training SHEiLDS SHL Simplilearn Skillstudio SML Training & Consultancy Sologic Souters Soutampton Business Scool SquareOne Training SR Supply Cain Consultants St Patrick s College StayAead Training Stonebridge Associated Colleges Study House Study Interactive Supply Cain Academy T Z Tactical Sales Training Target Training Associates Tecniques for Cange TCC Tales Training & Consultancy Te Britis Institute of Facilities Management Te Collective Leadersip Institute Te Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing Te Institute of Directors Te Language Gallery Te Learn Centre Te Lisbon MBA Te National Design Academy Te People 1st Training Company Te Royal Institution of Cartered Surveyors (RICS) Te Royal Society for te Prevention of Accidents Te Training Room Te Wedding Planner Scool Tirdwave Business Partnersip TMS CAD Centre Tolley Tax Training TTP Recruits UK Distance Learning & Publising UK Learning College UK Open College University of Stellenbosc Business Scool University of Lincoln Business Scool University of Liverpool - Online Degrees University of Westminster W Consulting Warwick Business Scool Webcredible Westminster Business Scool Westminster Explained Winmark Vision Learning Academy vision2learn