TAF Insights

Training

TAF Training

As part of our mission to promote best practice amongst UK trade associations, TAF curates resources and provides a number of training courses to help professionals from the sector in their personal and professional development.

The courses that TAF provides directly are specifically designed for those working in UK trade associations covering a number of key areas. Where we don't have a specific course on offer, we partner with a number of external providers to offer best-in-class training for non-trade-association-specific training.

We also partner with membership-specialist learning and development specialists, Nucleus Learning, to provide a best-in-class learning management system (LMS) to TAF members which they in turn can offer to their members. This includes a huge library of training materials that can be accessed via the portal and help associations to generate passive income streams.

Alongside our courses, take a look at our Resource Library which has lots of useful guides and videos for members about all aspects of working in a trade association. Our Special Interest Groups also focus on building networks that support professional development in different sectors, demographics and job functions. We also provide the Association Leadership Compass, a comprehensive systems map for association leaders.

You can find out more below about the training we offer and how to access it.

TAF Training Courses

TAF runs a number of training courses specifically designed for trade associations. These courses are typically classroom training that happens in person or online. Most of our training is paid-for as TAF incurs costs in providing it, however, TAF members always benefit from preferential pricing on anything we offer. Find out more below:

Audience

8 to 12 participants per course, made up of trade association chairs, board members, senior members, CEOs and senior directors/managers.

 

Objective

To give participants an understanding of what a high-performing association board looks like and a toolkit to improve the performance of their association board.

 

Practice

A combination of seminar, discussion and group work. The course will aim to create significant interactivity on the day and a lasting network of good practice into the medium term.  

The objective of the seminar is to help board members and chair-elect of trade associations maximise their effectiveness by:

  • Helping them understand the politics and dynamics of trade associations
  • Identifying best practice that will help them perform effectively
  • Providing a forum in which they can share experiences with other chairmen
  • Giving them access to further sources of information
  • Preparing a due diligence checklist
  • Issues to be settled before the chairman’s term of office commences

 

Price:

  • TAF Members: £295 + VAT
  • Non-members: £395 + VAT

 

Next Training Dates:

  • Wednesday 12th March 2025, 10.30 - 16.30
  • Wednesday 9th July 2025, 10.30 - 16.30
  • Wednesday 15th October 2025, 10.30 - 16.30

 

Find out more by contacting the TAF Secretariat

This training course provides an easy-to-use toolkit for trade associations of all sizes to use to maximise the impact of their lobbying.

Attendees will be given practical advice on how to implement best-in-class lobbying campaigns that cover research and intelligence gathering, messaging, strategy and wider tactics of engagement.

This session is run by Michael Burrell, one of the UK's most experienced public affairs trainers. A former political journalist, who covered both UK and EU politics, Michael founded the UK lobbying firm, Westminster Strategy, and held senior public affairs roles at Edelman and APCO Worldwide. He is currently a self-employed consultant.

Michael has provided UK, EU and global public affairs advice, crisis management and media relations counsel to businesses, trade associations, professional bodies, charities, governments and regulatory bodies over a long period, often at chairman and CEO level.

His experience encompasses many sectors including aviation, education, energy, the environment, financial services, pharmaceuticals, technology and telecommunications. The wide range of clients whom he has advised includes Airlines UK, the Airport Operators Association, Aviva, BT, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Gazprom, Microsoft, Pfizer and Samsung.

Next Training Date:
TBC

This course is designed to help any new member of staff adapt to working in an Association. The course will take you through

  • How associations work
  • Their purpose and how they differ from other membership bodies
  • Members, member engagement, recruitment and retention
  • How associations are managed

And much more!

 

This course is currently in development and we hope to launch it soon - if you would like more information or would like to book a space for the first sessions, please get in touch - secretariat@taforum.org

This course will be focused on how trade associations approach marketing, with a particular focus on marketing to businesses to join their association rather than to individuals to join a professional body.

 

This course is currently in development and we hope to launch it soon - if you would like more information or would like to book a space for the first sessions, please get in touch - secretariat@taforum.org

A specific course focused on commercial success and different Financial models for trade associations, from subscription models and pricing to revenue diversification - a must-attend course for association leaders and financial directors.

 

This course is currently in development and we hope to launch it soon - if you would like more information or would like to book a space for the first sessions, please get in touch - secretariat@taforum.org

TAF’s Learning & Development Technology Partner

Nucleus technologies help associations of all sizes provide unrivalled, high-quality learning experiences to their industries. They do this in two ways: Nucleus provides broad capabilities in areas such as digital content authoring, training & event management, secure assessments, automated certification, as well as eCommerce and end-to-end back office automation. Leveraging these, Nucleus customers can scale well-respected industry qualifications without the need for large teams or arduous manual processes.

To complement their software platform, TAF members can also access Nucleus Academy, a suite of 50+ popular titles in areas such health & safety, compliance, and soft skills. The best bit? At the click of a button, the courses change to be fully branded to your association’s fonts, colours and logos. You can even add in industry-specific content, saving you hours compared to creating new courses from scratch - all published to a free, fully automated eCommerce website to handle bookings and payments.

View the Nucleus Academy

Association Leadership Compass

Whether you're an emerging leader or a seasoned executive, the Association Leadership Compass provides a clear framework to guide your growth. It outlines the skills, knowledge, and behaviours essential for an effective chief executive.

This tool is designed to help you pinpoint areas for further development, offering targeted support where it's needed most. We've curated a collection of training courses and resources, organised around the key principles of the Compass, to help you excel in your leadership journey.

 

View the Association Leadership Compass

Want to find out more?

We're always looking at how we can develop our training offer, get in touch to discuss.

Get in touch