If you’re at all like me, you’re probably tired of hearing differing opinions about how the economy has, or has not, bounced back in recent months. Depending on who you talk to, things are looking up, or we’re about to fall off of a cliff. The truth is, even the smartest, most informed and most influential people can only guess at what will happen next.

So, since things may be getting better, or they may not, how do we plan? How do we keep an eye on the bottom line, but create opportunities for career development and allocate dwindling resources to training? We’ve been thinking a lot about that in recent months here at NWETC, and we do have a few ideas that might help our attendees and their organizations stretch their budgets further, and still have the opportunity to take advantage of high quality, topical, up-to-date training. Here are a few suggestions that we have, and we welcome additional suggestions if you have them. We appreciate comments, so if you have thoughts, share them in the comments section.

• Plan Ahead: It’s easier to make sure there’s funding for the training you want if you get it booked early. You’ll also be able to take advantage of our early bird discounts ($50 off of any course if registered at least 6 weeks before the training date.) Though we do add courses to the schedule regularly, we’ve got a pretty full schedule posted from January-June, and many courses posted all the way through December, 2013. Take a look, and book now!
• Have us Bring a Course to You: Did you know that we offer private courses, and that additional discounts apply if we present a course in a venue provided by your company/organization? You may think that you don’t have enough people who need the specific training to make this worthwhile, but if you partner with other agencies/colleagues who share your training needs, then you’ll get enough people to make it cost-effective. And best of all, no travel expenditures! If you’re interested in learning more about this option, please send a message to privatetraining@nwetc.org
• Let us Know Where You’d Like us to Offer Courses: At NWETC, we spend a lot of time trying to determine where the best places are to present our offerings. It seems like we’ve got a pretty good handle on where our customers are, but we always want to hear from you. If we have enough feedback that says we should bring courses to a specific area, we will do so, hopefully making it easier and more economical for everyone there.

We hope that these suggestions get the wheels turning, and help you make the most of the money you have in your budgets. See you in class!