IN TODAY'S fast-paced world we can become so preoccupied with the demands of our everyday lives that we forget to take time to learn.

Organisations that provide regular training are more likely to succeed in attracting and retaining people than those that don't.

While knowledge is growing exponentially, the half-life of knowledge is shrinking at an alarming rate. It is crucial, therefore, to keep up to date with new developments.

Short courses and seminars are often a viable option as they can be an effective and economical way to upgrade job skills, enhance knowledge and bridge gaps in learning.

Besides formal tertiary qualifications, many education and training institutions offer short courses. There are also a number of consultants offering short courses.

Training, when done correctly, delivers measurable and sustainable benefits to the company and individual. So companies should ensure they have a clear understanding of their operating environment and their future requirements and select programmes that will meet those needs.

Before initiating any kind of training intervention, however, it may be a good idea for the organisation to consider whether there are other obstacles to performance, such as role duplication, role overload, poor communication channels, interpersonal friction and poor goal clarity and address these first.

Short courses are fairly unregulated in comparison to full programme offerings, and are often criticised for having little or no lasting effect. For training to have maximum impact, it must be relevant and practical.

Employees are unlikely to embrace future training initiatives if they have been unable to apply what they have already learnt.

Employers, too, need to facilitate this - people become disillusioned when they return to the workplace after a training programme, only to find that everything is the way it used to be, that there is no sign of progress and no encouragement to apply what they've learnt.

Dariel Solutions executive director Greg Vercellotti says multiple short programmes can help, not only to build up knowledge and expertise, but also to retain it.

There are ways to ensure that the course or seminar you attend is more than just a flash in the pan, but you need to be prepared to do some homework.

Look carefully at the content of the course - what sort of outcomes you can expect, learning material provided, qualifications of the facilitator, whether it has unit standards registered on the National Qualifications Framework, how it is assessed and what kind of monitoring and follow up is provided.

Vercellotti believes there is no better way to assess a course than through observation. With so many business schools and business qualifications on offer, it can be difficult to decide which course to choose.

The Business School Expo, to be held at the Sandton Convention Centre on Thursday from 12pm to 6pm, will showcase a range of MBA, executive education, short course and postgraduate degree programmes offered by the South African Business School Association's 18 MBA-accredited business schools.

The expo also offers a quality line-up of speakers, products and solutions relevant to anyone working in a skills development, education, training and human resources.

For further information, go to www.bschoolexpo.co.za. Booking is free online or R50 at the door.