There are so many training providers out there, how can you choose a good one? Here are three signs that the company you're looking for will meet your training needs and not let you down.

With so many training companies out there all vying for your business and your money, how can you tell if they are any good? There are some key indicators that you should look for when choosing a training provider. Here are three tell-tale signs that they are a quality company.

1. They won't let you down

Very often, training courses will only run if there's a minimum number of participants, otherwise the company is not interested because they can't recoup their own costs to actually run the course. This is a business strategy that is beneficial for them -but not to you, because what if you're asking for training in something specialist to you? What if not many other companies would be booking that course in that certain week? What if it's an obscure piece of software unlikely to be in demand by others? Then the likelihood is that the course is cancelled, and you're left rearranging another time and inconvenience to pencil in some training time all over again.

Try to find a company that will run the courses regardless, and who don't set a minimum number of participants. Then they won't let you down, and in turn, you won't be letting the trainees down in your company.

2. A good track record

This may seem unfair to small, start-up companies, but there is a lot of sense in picking a training provider with a good track record. You can try a new company, but it's advisable to start with the larger ones first. These are more likely to have a wide choice of courses - another indicator of a good company.

For example, if a training provider only taught Excel courses and not Word, then you wouldn't be able to learn anything at all about how the two pieces of software can interact. A good track record will also be indicative in the venue and equipment that the company has. A good training company will re-invest their profits in better training centres and even more facilities in a customer-focused way.

3. Flexibility

Any training company worth their salt will offer to deviate from a standard course to better suit your needs, or those of your company. If a company is inflexible, it may be a sign that they are getting their training materials from somewhere else and didn't create them in-house.

The same key indicator of flexibility should also be considered if a course over-runs or goes into "overtime" slightly. To a good training provider, this won't be a problem and chances are they allocated enough time for the training anyway. A bad company would probably shoo you out.

This leads to another indicator - if the company takes the money and runs, and wants nothing to do with you after the money is paid and the training finishes instead of offering a follow up, it can lead to problems. Pick a training company with a guarantee or some post-training support: it shows that they are putting your needs first, rather than the other way around.