School for Santas

Here is a great example of skills training to meet a seasonal need, which was reported on the BBC website yesterday . A visit to santaschool.co.uk will enable you to register for one of the latest training courses.

Run in association with Dumfries and Galloway Council, Stuart Thompson is, for the second year running, offering a training course which has a very specific objective - to ensure delivery of unforgettable, quality experience to children of all ages. The training at Mabie Farm Park near Dumfries aims to help people take on the role in places like shopping centres and children’s parties and the website says that the training syllabus includes the History of Santa, voice training, costumes, make-up, roleplay etc. They also take bookings for personal home visits and reindeer hire - and the website is very carefully worded to ensure that the integrity of ‘the one and only Santa’ is maintained.

It is a spin-off of a business called Heatherbank Promotions which is an Entertainment Agency for Parties & Events, and strikes me as a great example of entrepreneurial product development!

Rated: (3/5), based on 2 reviews

Q&A - What is training?

Training can be defined as:

The process of increasing the knowledge and skills of the workforce to enable them to perform their jobs effectively

Training is, therefore, a process whereby an individual acquires job-related skills and knowledge.

Q&A - What is involved in a training strategy?

Effective training starts with a “training strategy”.  The three stages of a training strategy are:

Video case study - Nissan

Like other car manufacturers, Nissan is having to cut production output in the face of declinining demand.  However, Nissan has a clear idea about what it wants to do with its employees whilst the production line remains silent…

Download worksheet & video link (pdf)

Browse all our video case studies

Selling is the way to respond to a recession

Mike Southon’s piece in the FT this weekend focused on how successful entrepreneurs take advantage of the opportunities, not the threats, posed by a recession…

Marketing strategy - making the pier stand out from the crowd

The fire at the pier at Weston-Super-Mare might put you off buying a seaside attraction.  But not Stephen Bournes…

Starting a business - have your cake and eat it

The startups guides to setting up a part-time business are a rich source of material for teachers and students.  The latest in the series guides us through the potentially sticky challenge of starting a cake-making business…

Is training the key to survival in a downturn?

Many businesses will not have traded through a recession before, so it will be interesting to see how they respond in terms of cost control.  My recollection of the last recession was that two of the significant cost categories to bear the brunt of cuts were advertising and staff training.  However, an interesting article in the Sunday Times today suggests that better investment in training might be a key part of a strategy to survive the impending downturn…

The Business Studies Lessons from Terminal 5

Rarely can there have been a business news story that provides such a rich source of business studies content.

Starbucks Closes 7,100 US Outlets

...for a few hours, to train all the staff.  An amazing decision taken by the new boss of Starbucks in the US to kick-start his recovery strategy for the poorly-performing coffee chain.