Filled example: training plan overview
A fictional eight-week programme for 12 customer support advisers.
| Item | Example |
|---|---|
| Programme title and version | Handling billing escalations, version 1.0 |
| The need it addresses, in one sentence | Billing disputes are transferred to the billing team without the facts it needs, so customers wait for a second contact. |
| Who it is for, and how many people | 12 customer support advisers in one team, all with at least three months in the role. |
| Starting level of the group | All advisers resolve simple billing questions. Few have used adjustments in the billing system, and escalation notes vary. |
| Limits: hours, dates, budget, delivery mode | Up to 6 hours per person over 8 weeks, from 6 October. Online, in shift-friendly slots. No external costs. |
| Sponsor and decision owner | Support team manager |
| Trainers and subject experts | Lead trainer; billing team lead as subject expert for sessions 2 and 4 |
| How we will evaluate | End-of-session form for each live session; practice evidence from the objective map; work samples in week 8 |
| Follow-up date and what we will check | Tuesday 24 November: two real escalation notes per adviser, checked by the billing team lead |
| Signed off by, and date | Support team manager, 29 September |
Filled example: objective and assessment map
Each objective has one practice task, one piece of evidence and at least one session.
| Code | Objective: the learner will… | Practice task | Evidence it was met | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| O1 | Summarise a billing dispute in three lines: the charge, the date and what the customer asks for. | Summarise three fictional tickets in pairs | Trainer checks each summary against the ticket facts | S1 |
| O2 | Choose the correct route for a dispute (resolve, adjust or escalate) with the decision guide. | Sort ten fictional cases into the three routes | 8 of 10 cases routed as the guide says; the rest discussed | S1, S4 |
| O3 | Apply an adjustment or a credit note in the billing system’s test environment. | Guided practice on three test cases | Three test cases completed without errors | S2 |
| O4 | Explain a billing decision in plain language and agree a next step with the customer. | Role-play in trios with an observer sheet | Observer notes show a plain explanation and an agreed next step | S3 |
| O5 | Write an escalation note that the billing team can act on without asking a question. | Write a note for a fictional case | Billing team lead confirms the note needs no follow-up question | S4, S5 |
Filled example: session schedule
345 minutes in total, within the agreed 6 hours per person. Four weeks between session 4 and the follow-up leave time to use the skills at work.
| # | Date | Min | Session | Objectives | Method | Trainer | Materials and bookings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | Tue 6 Oct | 90 | Find the facts in a billing dispute | O1, O2 | Live online: demonstration, paired practice | Lead trainer | Six fictional tickets; decision guide |
| S2 | Tue 13 Oct | 45 | Adjustments and credit notes | O3 | Self-paced: guided practice in the test system | Billing team lead | Test accounts for 12 advisers |
| S3 | Tue 20 Oct | 90 | Explain a decision and agree a next step | O4 | Live online: role-play in trios | Lead trainer | Four role-play cases; observer sheet |
| S4 | Tue 27 Oct | 90 | When to escalate, and how to hand over | O2, O5 | Live online: case practice | Lead trainer and billing team lead | Escalation note template |
| S5 | Tue 24 Nov | 30 | Follow-up: review real escalation notes | O5 | Live online: small-group review | Billing team lead | Two anonymised notes per adviser |
Filled example: training calendar
The example schedule as a week-by-week training calendar. October: 4 sessions, 315 minutes (5.25 hours); November: 1 session, 30 minutes (0.50 hours). In the Excel file the same calendar fills itself from the schedule sheet.
| Week | Week starting | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat or Sun | Sessions | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mon 5 Oct | S1, 90 min | 1 | 90 | |||||
| 2 | Mon 12 Oct | S2, 45 min | 1 | 45 | |||||
| 3 | Mon 19 Oct | S3, 90 min | 1 | 90 | |||||
| 4 | Mon 26 Oct | S4, 90 min | 1 | 90 | |||||
| 5 | Mon 2 Nov | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 6 | Mon 9 Nov | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 7 | Mon 16 Nov | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 8 | Mon 23 Nov | S5, 30 min | 1 | 30 | |||||
| Total | 5 | 345 |
Training plan overview
Blank version. Copy it into a document, or use the Word or Excel file.
| Item | Your plan |
|---|---|
| Programme title and version | |
| The need it addresses, in one sentence | |
| Who it is for, and how many people | |
| Starting level of the group | |
| Limits: hours, dates, budget, delivery mode | |
| Sponsor and decision owner | |
| Trainers and subject experts | |
| How we will evaluate | |
| Follow-up date and what we will check | |
| Signed off by, and date |
Objectives you can check
Rewrite objectives that describe knowing or feeling into something a person could show.
| Instead of | Write | Evidence you could collect |
|---|---|---|
| Understand the refund policy | Choose the correct refund route for a customer case | Cases routed correctly in practice |
| Be aware of data protection rules | Mark the personal data in a ticket before sharing it | A marked-up practice ticket |
| Know the new system | Create and submit a purchase request in the test system | A completed request in the test log |
| Improve communication | Explain a decision in plain language and agree a next step | Observer notes from a role-play |
| Be confident with complaints | Acknowledge the problem, say what you can do and agree a next step | Observer sheet with those three parts |
Needs analysis, training plan or facilitator guide?
| Question | Training needs analysis | Training plan | Facilitator guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| When | Before you decide to train | After the need is agreed | When one session is designed |
| What it answers | Is training the answer, and for whom? | What will people learn, in which sessions, and how will we know? | How exactly do we run this session? |
| Main output | Ranked skill gaps | Objectives, schedule and objective map | A step-by-step delivery guide |
| Related kit | Training needs analysis template | This template | Facilitator guide template |
What you'll leave with
In a 60-minute planning meeting the trainer and the sponsor complete a training plan in which every objective starts with an action verb, links to one practice task and one piece of evidence, and appears in at least one scheduled session, and the planned minutes stay within the hours the sponsor agreed.
Before the session
- For trainers, learning and development specialists and managers who plan a course or programme of two or more sessions for a group. For one person’s development, use the individual training plan page. If the need is not yet clear, complete a training needs analysis first.
- Bring the agreed need: who the programme is for, the problem it addresses, the time people can give, fixed dates and any required content. Invite the sponsor and one subject expert; a representative learner helps with the schedule.
- Collect what already exists, such as slides, e-learning, job aids and earlier courses. Note what people must be able to do on the job, not only what they must know.
- Open the Excel version on a shared screen if you can; it totals the minutes and counts how often each objective appears in the schedule. Otherwise, print the blank plan, the objective map and the schedule.
How to fill it in with your team
Confirm the need, the audience and the limits
Read the need aloud in one sentence. Write who the programme is for, how many people, their starting level and the limits: total hours, dates, budget and delivery mode. If the sponsor cannot say which problem the training solves, stop and agree the next step for the needs analysis instead.
Write three to five objectives
Each objective describes what a person will do after the programme, in which situation and to what standard. Start with an action verb such as summarise, choose, apply or explain. Replace “understand” and “be aware of” with something a person could show. Keep three to five; more objectives usually mean less practice for each one.
Map each objective to practice and evidence
For each objective, write one practice task that is close to the real job, and the evidence that will show the objective was met, such as a checked task, observer notes from a role-play or a work sample after some weeks. If you cannot name the evidence, rewrite the objective.
Build the session schedule
List the sessions in order with the date, minutes, method and the objective codes each one covers. Put practice in every session, and leave time between sessions for people to use the skill at work. Check that the total stays within the agreed hours and that every objective appears at least once. Then look at the sessions week by week on the training calendar: a crowded week or a long gap before the follow-up is easier to see there than in a list.
List resources, roles and risks
For each session, write the trainer, the materials and anything that must be booked, such as rooms, licences or a practice environment. Name the largest risk to the programme, such as shift cover, and one action to reduce it.
Agree evaluation, follow-up and sign-off
Agree how you will collect feedback at the end of each session, when you will check use at work, and who receives a short report. Record the version and the date of sign-off. Book the follow-up date now.
Participant worksheet
Copy this table into a document, or print the worksheet from the bundle. Share only what you choose.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Need and audience | Who the programme is for, how many people and the problem it addresses |
| Objectives | Three to five, each starting with an action verb |
| Objective map | One practice task and one piece of evidence for each objective |
| Schedule | Date, minutes, method, trainer and the objectives each session covers |
| Calendar | The schedule week by week, with sessions, minutes and hours per week and per month |
| Evaluation and follow-up | End-of-session feedback, the follow-up date and what you will check |
Debrief questions
- Which objective has the weakest evidence, and what would a stronger check look like?
- Where does the schedule leave time to use the skill at work between sessions?
- What would we cut first if the sponsor halved the hours?
Adapt it for your group
- For a single workshop, use the overview and the objective map only; the facilitator guide template covers the session itself.
- For self-paced or blended programmes, list each e-learning module as a session with its expected minutes, and add a live session for the practice that people cannot do alone.
- Plan access from the start: captions and transcripts for recordings, materials sent before sessions, practice that people can do in writing, and session times that suit shift patterns and time zones. Record these in the Method or Materials column.
- For one employee, complete the individual training plan with their manager, choose one or two objectives, and set two check-in dates.
After the session
Share the signed-off plan with the sponsor and the trainers, and store it with its version number. After each session, record attendance and feedback against the plan. At the follow-up date, compare the evidence with each objective. Before the next group starts, update the plan: remove what nobody used and add practice where the evidence was weak.
Questions people ask
What should a training plan include?
Who the training is for, the need it addresses, three to five objectives, the sessions with dates and methods, the practice and evidence for each objective, resources and roles, and how you will evaluate and follow up.
What is the difference between a training plan and a training schedule?
A schedule lists sessions and dates. A training plan also states why the training exists, what people will be able to do and how you will check it. The schedule is one part of the plan.
How do I write training objectives?
Describe what a person will do after the training, in which situation and to what standard, and start with a verb that someone could observe. The table of objectives you can check on this page shows vague objectives rewritten.
Can I use this as an employee training plan for one person?
Yes. The individual training plan page is for one employee and their manager: a goal in the person’s words, the objectives that matter most, practice between sessions, support and two check-in dates.
What does the Excel version calculate?
It adds up the planned minutes, converts them to hours and compares them with the hours agreed. It also counts how many sessions cover each objective, so an objective that no session covers shows “Not scheduled”.
Is there a training calendar template?
Yes. The training calendar page shows the programme one week per row, with each session on its day, and the Excel calendar sheets fill themselves from the schedule: sessions, minutes and hours per week and per month, and the weeks with no session. In the filled example that is October: 4 sessions, 315 minutes (5.25 hours); November: 1 session, 30 minutes (0.50 hours). It plans one programme, not a whole department’s year of courses.
What is included in the free and editable files?
The open PDF has the blank overview, objective map, schedule and training calendar, a filled example of all four, the individual training plan and the 60-minute planning meeting. Subscribers also receive the editable Word file, the Excel workbook and a CSV of the example schedule.
How to use the files
Print the PDF, edit the Word file in Word or Google Docs, or open the CSV or XLSX in a spreadsheet. Open files need no email.
Can I use this with paying clients?
Yes. Use and adapt this original Superglue kit in your own training, including paid client sessions. Please share this page rather than redistributing the unmodified kit. Read the full usage terms.