'Tailor-made training - including Saturdays'
Vlerick gives training sessions at TriFinance
Training is an integral part of the company philosophy at TriFinance. The young financial consultancy encourages the ambitions of both its permanent and temporary staff by offering a broad range of courses. Vlerick has been one of the company’s training partners since 2007 – including on Saturdays.
“TriFinance supports finance departments, particularly in the private sector, with tailor-made solutions,” says Ann D'Havé, Manager Competence Centre Talent Management. The company has 230 employees in Belgium, 50 in the Netherlands and 20 in Germany and is dedicated to developing competences in technical and financial areas as well as on a personal level. “The key to our competence management,” says D'Havé, “is positively supporting the employee with training courses. We offer seven internal programmes, each varying according to the employee’s knowledge, experience and maturity. After all, recent graduates have different training needs to a manager with years of experience.”
"Maturity and expertise are essential”
TriFinance works with various training partners. “Vlerick’s courses are not for those just starting out in their career,” says D'Havé. “Maturity and expertise are essential. Of course, we don’t just look at age; we also take ambition into account. As far as Vlerick is concerned, it’s essential for us that the course participant can immediately apply what they’ve learnt, that the course is limited to just a few days, and that it’s interactive. And through the research and development of the Vlerick competence centre, new research can be integrated into the programme.”
Vlerick provides two of the four modules in the management programme. “The programme is residential,” explains D'Havé, “running from Thursday evening to Saturday afternoon. And we expect participants to produce a paper although that isn’t always obvious as they’re already working on time-consuming projects.” Vlerick also provides a two-day course for consultants and the first course for interim managers took place at the beginning of February. “It’s being held on a Saturday,” says D'Havé, “because self-employed don’t like losing a working day.”
Free of costs but not free of obligations
The courses at TriFinance are free of costs for the participants but they’re not free of obligations. “First, a competence matrix is discussed and a development plan drawn up,” says D’Havé. “The course has to correspond to the career. And for the management course, Vlerick helps decide whether or not a potential participant joins the course.” D'Havé still sees challenges ahead. “We need to screen training partners even better so that courses remain tailor-made. And we need to continue to pay attention to how the course is given. A teacher standing at the front of the class and just talking and talking isn’t the right approach for today’s graduates. We need to find teaching methods for them that relate to the digital era.” Of course, TriFinance can’t ignore the financial crisis either. D’Havé: “We have to continue to ensure employability and that’s not possible without training.”
TriFinance
TriFinance Antwerp
Frankrijklei 119
2000 Antwerp
Tel+32 3 201 25 60
www.trifinance.be