14 July 2026 · 4 min read · Leadership and Management
Public courses and in house programmes are often treated as the same product at different prices. They are not. Each is better at a different job, and choosing by cost alone tends to disappoint.
When a public course wins
Send people to a public course when you have one or two who need a skill, when the value includes meeting peers from other organisations, or when you want an individual exposed to how a discipline is practised beyond your own walls. It is also the faster route when the need is immediate and the numbers are small.
When in-house wins
Run an in house programme when a whole team needs to reach a shared standard, when the content should be built around your own systems and cases, or when the point is a common understanding of a procedure. Once a group reaches roughly six people, in house usually costs less than sending the same people out, before travel is counted.
A simple test
Ask what has to be true afterwards. If the answer is that specific individuals grow, a public course fits. If the answer is that a team works differently together, in house almost always fits better.
BMC Training runs practical programmes in Leadership and Management. See the courses in this area.