Consulting 101 - Global Training

Part of the perks of working for global consulting firm (MBB) is getting to attend global/regional training workshops on a regular basis. You get an opportunity to travel abroad to the regional headquarters for a full week, and you also get to meet global colleagues around the world, and see how they have been going through, as consulting projects really differ in dynamics depending on the local context and client.

Of course, a training workshop is just that; a training workshop from 9-6, where you work with the local learning & development teams to learn new ways of working within a team, and brushing up on hard skills such as excel modelling or alteryx in finding new methods for data analysis and management. The training is still very light-hearted in nature, and that schedule definitely beats out working on a project till the AM every day. Therefore, the training workshop is also a good opportunity to relieve some stress from work, and sit back and relax while engaging in ‘some’ fun training activities, like getting to know your own MBTI personality, etc.

A couple photos from my Associate Regional Training at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Consulting Foundations)

The real fun begins after 6 every day, when you find yourself in a new country with a bunch of eager-to-have fun, stressed out consultants, with a dinner expense budget that can definitely help fund a good time with the mates. Similar to a company outing, you get to meet people that you have not yet had the opportunity to talk with (since each and every consultant’s training trajectory and career path can be quite different), and just go have a good time.

You most likely go out for drinks every night of the training workshop, and the level of participation and focus on the actual training regimen tends to decrease day by day. Of course, the office and the learning and development team knows this is bound to happen, but it is also a part of this consulting culture that you get to go out and have fun and take a much needed break from the high intensity lifestyle we’re leading most of the time.

Generally, you go on one of these workshops once every position (once when you are an associate, next when you reach consultant, then project leader, etc.), so it would be on average of once every 2 years. Of course, once you reach the project leader level, you have training programs not only of consulting essentials, but also practice area-specific programs, so the frequency of these trips are bound to increase as you climb up the ladder.

For me personally, I’ve had the pleasure of attending my associate workshop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a week, where I was able to meet up the APAC offices, (around 150~200 consultants convened) and enjoy the Southeastern vibes of a vibrant city. It was definitely another highlight of my career here so far, and made many memories with a lot of good people.