Collaborating with Clients @ Les Fontaines, Paris

One of the reasons that greatly influenced my decision to join the Capgemini Business Technology Consulting programme is the scheme’s investment in training and development. Many graduate schemes promise useful training, but from what I’ve been able to ascertain few actually deliver. The BTC programme takes a structured approach towards training, whereby graduates take a variety of mandatory and recommended training modules which help us develop core consulting skills.

Capgemini is proud to have a beautiful chateau about an hour from the centre of Paris and is one of our main conference and training facilities. It is here that one of the compulsory BTC training courses – Collaborating with Clients (CWC) – takes place.

In March, I attended this intensive and valuable training course. The purpose of this course is to arm graduates with a set of fundamental consulting skills which allow us to be more successful at we do – working with clients to provide desired outcomes. Although not the main focus of the CWC, the overriding theme this year for all courses held at Les Fontaines, including CWC, is the impact cloud computing and how Capgemini can help our clients to make the most from it.

The CWC course covers a wide range of skills, from equipping graduates with the knowledge on how to work better in teams to teaching us the best methods of handling conflict and resistance.

Personally, the overarching lessons I gained from this course, and the reason I enjoyed it was the emphasis on soft’ skills. It equips graduates with skills such as how to design and manage interviews; how to manage meetings more effectively; how to problem solve better, amongst other many useful skills.

An exciting feature about this week long course is that it is attended by Capgemini colleagues from all around the world – and not necessarily other graduates. This significantly enhances the learning experience since we are exposed to a variety of working backgrounds, styles and experiences.

The CWC is run alongside a host of other Capgemini training courses which means graduates are provided the opportunity to network with colleagues from other parts of the company.

Aside from the direct benefits offered by the CWC course, the serene and peaceful environment at Les Fontaines, coupled with the dedicated training facility far removed from our day jobs, made it very conducive to learning and was the main reason we were able to learn so much so quickly.

While the CWC course was very interesting and enjoyable, it was certainly no holiday! The intensity of the course certainly helps graduates to manage our time more efficiently in periods of heavy workloads. One final benefit: attending training at Les Fontaines provides an opportunity for a weekend away in Paris – however, I would advise future attendees to enjoy Paris the weekend before the course rather than after as it can be quite tiring.

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Kudos to you! I hadn't tohuhgt of that! # Posted By Bear | 6/21/11 5:32 AM