Company training can be delivered in-house by your own people, externally by a training provider, or as a blend of the two. In-house training is cost-effective and highly specific to your business. External training brings expertise, structure and outside perspective. Blended approaches use each where it is strongest. The best choice depends on the skill, the number of people and how much expertise you have internally.
In-house training
Strengths:
- Highly specific to your processes, products and culture.
- Low direct cost.
- Flexible scheduling.
- Builds internal knowledge-sharing.
Weaknesses:
- Depends on internal experts having time and teaching skills.
- Can reinforce existing habits rather than introduce new thinking.
- Often less structured and harder to scale consistently.
Best for: product knowledge, internal systems, company processes, onboarding.
External training
Strengths:
- Specialist expertise and structured, tested content.
- Fresh perspectives and good practice from other organisations.
- Saves internal time on design and delivery.
- Often more credible for skills like leadership, finance or strategy.
Weaknesses:
- Higher direct cost.
- May need adapting to your context.
- Requires choosing a good provider. See how to choose a corporate training provider.
Best for: leadership and management, finance, strategy, specialist skills, AI, and anything where internal expertise is limited.
Blended training
A blended approach combines external expertise with internal reinforcement, for example:
- An external provider delivers a leadership course to your managers as corporate training.
- Internal champions run follow-up sessions applying the learning to company situations.
- Line managers coach team members on using new skills.
This often produces the best results: structured expertise plus company-specific application.
A decision table by skill
| Skill | Usually best approach |
|---|---|
| Company processes and systems | In-house |
| Product knowledge | In-house |
| Leadership and management | External or blended |
| Finance for non-finance managers | External |
| Strategy and planning | External or blended |
| AI and digital skills | Blended |
| Communication and presentation | External or blended |
| Compliance topics | External content, internal reinforcement |
Questions to decide
- Do we have someone internally who is both expert and a good teacher?
- Does this skill need outside perspective or specialist knowledge?
- How many people need it, and how consistent must it be?
- How will we reinforce it after training?
External training with LSBUK
London School of Business UK offers external corporate training for company teams in leadership, management, finance, strategy, people management and more, live online or on campus in central London. Browse our executive education courses, or read about building a full corporate training programme for employees.
Frequently asked questions
Is in-house training cheaper than external training?
Usually in direct cost, but internal time is a real cost too. For specialist skills, external training can be better value overall.
Can external training be tailored to our company?
Many providers focus discussion and examples on your team's situation in corporate delivery. Ask what can be adapted.
What is blended company training?
A mix of external structured training and internal reinforcement such as coaching, champions and practice on real work.