What They Said……

Course Relevance

I really enjoyed the course and felt it not only reinforced what I do but also gave me new skills I could bring to projects. As I expected Andrew delivered it effectively, relating to what we do in our every day jobs which really helped in learning the theories. I would always recommend Andrew to colleagues looking for development courses.
Tina Olver

Senior Development Officer, Plymouth Community Homes

Andrew made the course extremely relevant to my ‘day job’. For me the sections on risk were particularly enlightening, as we do risk assessments all the time but I never really appreciated how beneficial they can be. I now realise that the more you put into them the more you get out!
Hazel Pennington

Assistant Development Officer, Hightown Praetorian & Churches Housing Association Ltd

Really helpful and informative. Helped me understand better why I do what I do (e.g. risk logs) and also gave me ideas for what I should continue doing / do more of / stop doing!
Mona Johansson

Senior Development Project Manager, Saxon Weald

I now think more about why we do things in a certain way rather just how we do things. I would encourage anyone who is interested in project management to sign up.
Yvonne Wright

Project Officer (Development), Genesis HA

I prefer the more structured approach and have learnt some different ways of doing things that will in turn lead to greater efficiency in my projects. The relevant examples to Housing Development helped put the various processes in context. I would definitely recommend this course to all levels of staff.
Aamir Siddiqui

Project Manager, Aldwyck Housing

Great content, packed full of useful tools and a fantastic trainer.
Emily Manero

Quality Assurance Project Manager, Notting Hill Housing

I really enjoyed the course and Andrew Drury is a great inspiring trainer. Many years ago I attended Andrew’s “Development in Practice” training and he was excellent.
Lucie Sominka

Project Officer, Development, DCH

Absolutely brilliant – I wish I’d taken this course before managing projects. I’d recommend it to anyone involved in project management.
Stacey Stephens

Business Improvement Manager, Sentinel Housing Association

The training was brilliant and I have implemented some of the techniques and tools at work which has lowered stress levels and freed up some of my time!
Vikki Barnes

Development Officer, Chelmer HP

Gives structure and process to running projects, especially useful when comparing with previous experience of running projects. Well delivered.
Derek Bell

Independent Living Officer, Berwick Borough Housing

The course and its delivery was excellent, the lecturer made it relevant to the development role and I could really see how certain elements of the syllabus could be utilised in day to day working. I would strongly recommend this course to colleagues at ALL levels regardless of experience.
Pete Salsbury

Project Manager, Aldwyck Housing Group

I would definitely recommend this to other staff who are in a trainee role or new to development and also to experienced project managers who have never had any formal training. I have already started using some of the concepts back at work, particularly the project management plan.
Sukhi Randhawa

Development Officer, Viridian Housing

Course Intensity

I thought the course was great. It was better than I was expecting. Andrew was engaging and interesting. Day 1 however was a very, very long day and I was completely shattered at the end of it! Overall though it was a great course.
Rachel Palmer

Business Team Coordinator, DCH

I found the course enjoyable and easy to follow and take on board. But there was a lot to cover in the 2 days and I found it tiring. On reflection, I’d have preferred to spread the course over more than 2 days.
Samantha Devlin

Customer Contact Centre Manager, Four Housing Group

Very intensive over two days – a lot to take in in a short period. Would be better over a longer period of time with more time spent on each element using practical examples/case studies. But I appreciate harder for people to get the time to commit to this.
Derek Bell

Independent Living Officer, Berwick Borough Housing

I would have benefited from more practical examples. It would be good if we had broken out into small groups at times to break up the day and share ideas. I am a practical learner and it was a bit too theoretical for me so I had to work harder to commit the new information to memory. I learn by doing, so have to work harder if I am being talked at for the duration of the course.
Emily Manero

Quality Assurance Project Manager, Notting Hill Housing

HATC response: Rachel, Derek, Sam and Emily are right – although the intensity of the 2-day course didn’t stop them from passing the exam! There is a lot of content to cover in 2 days, leaving little time for exercises or case studies.  We do offer 3-day or 4-day versions of the course, when run in-house, to specifically address this issue. These longer courses cover exactly the same content, with the extra time given over to exercises and case studies, to help embed the theory with some practice. Further details are here.

General comments

A very good and interesting course with lots of practical examples given.

Excellent delivery.

The jargon was an initial barrier, but it was explained well at the start of the course which helped me engage with the subject more easily.

Excellent and enjoyable sessions with excellent tuition – as evidenced by all attendees having passed the exam!! A great grounding in project management. Pre-course reading and clear understanding of the demands of the course was vital to getting into the right frame of mind because the two days were very intense.

Very good on the whole. The pre-course content was very good, the book was very easy to read and gave me a good understanding of the subject matter. I was a bit concerned that the actual content of the course would be a bit dull, but Andrew was excellent in the way he delivered the course and his knowledge was very impressive.