Ready-made training materials are editable trainer-led workshop packages containing PowerPoint slides, trainer notes, participant workbooks, and certificates that allow trainers and HR teams to deliver professional training without creating materials from scratch.
Ready-made training materials — also called off-the-shelf course materials — are editable, trainer-led packages that include everything needed to run your own workshop. Typical inclusions are PowerPoint slides, a trainer’s guide, a participant workbook, and certificates. They help trainers and HR teams save weeks of preparation time while ensuring professional, engaging delivery.
What’s Included in Ready-Made Training Materials
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| PowerPoint Slides | Professionally designed with trainer notes and activities. |
| Trainer’s Handbook | Step-by-step guidance for delivering the workshop. |
| Participant Workbook | Printable or digital learner materials. |
| Certificate Template | Editable PDF to award participants. |
| Editable Format | Fully customizable in Word and PowerPoint. |
Want ready-to-use packs? Explore our training course materials.
You can also find more guides on our Corporate Training design hub area.
What Are The Benefits of Ready-Made Training Materials?
Ready-made training materials save trainers and HR teams weeks of preparation time by providing complete, editable workshop packages that are professionally designed and easy to deliver.
One of the questions I get asked most as a training provider, teacher, business trainer, and coach is whether it is possible to get pre-made or ready-made training materials.
The simple answer is ‘Yes’, and it can save you a huge amount of time!
Preparing the materials for a training session or workshop is where you can be drained of your precious time.
As a freelance trainer or corporate trainer, while the teaching can be over in a matter of hours, one or two days, if you are providing workshops, the preparation is what normally eats up all the time.
Managing your time is something that you would love to be able to do better, right? Most of us struggle to spend more time working with clients or enjoying our free time.
Whether for employees or for your own private workshops, isn’t your time better spent going for a nice long walk, working on other fun things, or having extra time off away from your computer?
So the benefits of ready-made materials are that they:
- include the chance to save days or weeks preparing training and training materials
- are designed by a professional (our materials are designed by Dr Valeria Lo Iacono, who taught at various universities, including the University of Bath, England)
- are created with pedagogy in mind (meaning with learning styles considered)
If you’re considering purchasing editable materials, you might also like our guide on how to buy customizable training materials, which explains what to look for in editable training packs.
If you’re looking at training materials that can be used at work, you can also check our Workplace Training guide, which explains how effective employee training improves skills, performance, and employee engagement.
For a greater overview of what employee training materials should include and how to create and deliver them, see our employee training materials guide.
What Is Usually Included in Ready-Made Training Materials?
Most ready-made training materials normally include PowerPoint slides, a trainer’s handbook, a participant workbook, training activities, and editable certificates, although the exact contents vary by supplier.
These items are normally available in digital form, i.e., they are usable downloadable materials.
The most valuable file tends, for most trainers, to be the PowerPoint slides, and on these, you will normally find:
- the slides
- teacher’s notes on the bottom of each slide
- activities included in the PowerPoints
For a 2-hour workshop, the PPT presentation will tend to be around 25 slides, and range from 75 slides for a full-day training session.
For visual presentation tips, see our article on how to design PowerPoint slides for training because it covers layout, visuals, and engagement strategies for workshop slides.
The number of PowerPoint slides, though, will really depend on the specific topic on which training is being given.
Our Emotional Intelligence ready-made materials include a 61-slide PowerPoint file, for example.
Where Can I Get Free Ready-Made Training Materials?
You can find free ready-made training materials from specialist training-related websites, although they are usually fairly short or brief resources or sample activities rather than complete workshop packages for providing workshops.
- Free Team Building games
- Free 54-page eBook with 25 Free Corporate training activities
- Free ice-breaker activities for teachers and trainers
Where Can I Buy Ready-Made Training Materials?
Ready-made editable training materials can be found here on our site from our main training course materials catalogue.
Are There Free Customizable Training Materials?
Some free customizable training materials are available online, but complete editable workshop packages are rarely offered free because they require significant time and expertise to develop.
- Use these free-to-use training activities
- Free Training Day Checklist
- 21 Free Ice-breakers for Online Teaching
- Check out our corporate training tips for better workshops, for a useful guide on improving training engagement and delivery.
Once you’ve downloaded these resources,
Full training materials packs that cover 1- or 2-day training workshops generally are NOT going to be available for free because weeks and sometimes a month’s work go into designing them.
Packages that include the full PowerPoint presentation, all teaching notes, and everything else that comes with a well-designed training pack are extremely time-consuming to design.
What Are the Disadvantages of Buying Ready-Made Training Materials?
The main disadvantages of ready-made training materials are the purchase cost and the possibility that some content may need adapting for your organization or audience.
But, having said that, when you can buy a set of materials for a 1-day workshop for around £137 (about USD$180) that would otherwise take you between one and three weeks to design, it is perhaps an extremely smart investment in terms of your time.
If the topic you are teaching is really quite bespoke, i.e., specific to your business and staff, then creating your own materials might be the easiest way forward. In this case, off-the-shelf materials might not specifically match your needs.
If you prefer to build your own content from scratch, see our guide on how to design effective training materials, as it includes structure, pacing, and design principles for trainers.
If you have the time to create your own materials, then you have total control over the materials and what is included.
