Website review
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What is STL Training?
STL Training is a UK learning-and-development provider, based in London but delivering in the UK and internationally, that runs instructor-led courses both face-to-face and in online classrooms. Its catalogue spans three broad areas: Microsoft Excel and Power BI (from introduction through advanced formulas, VBA, PivotTables and financial modelling), wider Microsoft Office and AI tools (Power BI, Copilot, Microsoft 365, ChatGPT), and professional skills such as management, leadership, communication, time management and customer service. See STL Training.
Who it suits
- Office and finance staff who need practical Excel, Power BI or modelling skills rather than theory.
- Managers and team leads looking for short soft-skills or leadership courses.
- L&D managers sourcing training for groups, including on-site delivery.
What to weigh
The site emphasises measurable outcomes (training objectives met, recommendation rates, a large testimonial bank) and public courses that are not cancelled — useful if you need reliability around booked dates. The trade-off is breadth: with 70+ courses in some categories, you'll want to check that the specific level matches your team's starting point, since "advanced" Excel courses vary widely between providers.
A sensible next step is to pick one concrete goal — say, getting a finance team comfortable with Power BI dashboards — and compare the relevant course outline and format (public vs on-site) against that goal before booking.
Which Excel courses are available for beginners versus advanced users?
The site separates Excel training into a beginner-to-advanced ladder plus specialist tracks. On STL Training, the general progression runs Introduction, Intermediate, Advanced, then two Advanced variants ("Formulas & Functions" and "For Power Users"). Alongside that sit focused courses: Charting, Forecasting & Data Analysis, PivotTables, PowerPivot, Financial Modelling, Excel for Finance Professionals, and VBA at Introduction, Intermediate and Advanced levels.
Choosing by need
| If you are… | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New to Excel or self-taught with gaps | Introduction, then Intermediate | Builds a consistent base before shortcuts and complex formulas |
| Comfortable with everyday formulas and want depth | Advanced or Advanced – Formulas & Functions | Targets calculation skills rather than general breadth |
| Working with large datasets and dashboards | PivotTables, PowerPivot, Charting, Forecasting & Data Analysis | These are tool-specific; pick the one matching your task |
| Automating recurring reports | VBA Introduction upward | Programming track, separate from the formula ladder |
| In a finance role | Financial Modelling or Excel for Finance Professionals | Applied modelling rather than generic features |
A practical next step: list the tasks you actually struggle with—say, consolidating monthly files or building a forecast—and match each to the specialist course rather than defaulting to "Advanced." The site presents delivery as face-to-face or online instructor-led, with public scheduled dates and on-site options, so format and group size are worth confirming before booking.
Can I book a public scheduled course, and what happens if it gets cancelled?
Yes. Public scheduled courses are listed with dates on a schedule page and can be booked directly; the site also accepts callback requests by phone if you prefer to confirm details before booking. The page states that public courses are "never cancelled," which is the key reassurance if you are booking around work commitments or travel.
What to check before booking
- Confirm the specific course date and format (face-to-face or online classroom) on the schedule page, since the site offers both.
- Ask what happens if an instructor is unavailable or a session is disrupted, as "never cancelled" usually means rescheduling or substituting rather than a refund.
- Check whether online and face-to-face versions of the same course use the same materials and exercises, especially for Excel, Power BI and Copilot courses where hands-on practice matters.
Practical scenario
If you are an L&D manager booking a small group onto an Excel or management course, the no-cancellation policy reduces the risk of losing a training day. Still confirm the rescheduling terms in writing, and ask whether on-site delivery is an alternative if a public date becomes impractical. For broader comparisons of scheduled business skills courses, see Management training, Soft skills, Power BI, Excel Learning solutions.
How does STL Training deliver courses to teams outside London or internationally?
STL Training delivers courses both face-to-face and online, so teams outside London can join instructor-led sessions remotely rather than travelling to a London classroom. The site also describes on-site training and says it delivers in the UK and 85+ countries, which indicates it can bring training to a client's own location as well as run public scheduled courses.
Practical delivery options for a distributed team
- Public scheduled courses, online: individual team members book onto scheduled instructor-led sessions from wherever they are. The site states public courses are never cancelled, which matters if you are slotting training into a project timeline.
- Public scheduled courses, face-to-face: useful when only a few people need a topic and you want classroom interaction without commissioning a private programme.
- On-site training at your premises: suited to a whole team that needs the same skills, shared examples and a common vocabulary. The site presents this as a reliable option, though travel and logistics for the trainer are worth confirming when you enquire.
- Online private delivery: the natural middle ground for international teams—everyone joins the same live session, but nobody flies in.
Choosing between them
| Situation | Sensible format |
|---|---|
| One or two people need Excel or Power BI skills | Public online course |
| A whole department needs consistent reporting skills | Private online or on-site session |
| Team spread across several countries | Live online, scheduled around time zones |
| Team needs behavioural change, not just tools | Longer management or leadership programme, ideally blended |
For international teams, the main practical questions are time-zone fit for live sessions, whether course materials and exercises work for your systems and data, and how many participants a session can take. The site's course list spans Excel, Power BI, Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT and management and soft-skills programmes, so a single supplier can cover both technical and people-development needs—useful if you want one booking and one point of contact.
A useful next step is to contact STL Training with your team size, locations, time zones and the specific skills gap, and ask which format they recommend and how a private online session would be structured. You can start from STL Training.
What Copilot and ChatGPT training options suit busy managers or decision makers?
For busy managers and decision makers, the most relevant options on Management training, Soft skills, Power BI, Excel Learning solutions are the short, decision-focused courses rather than the technical ones. The site lists several AI courses, including ChatGPT for Busy Decision Makers, ChatGPT for Professionals, Introduction to Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot for Advanced Users, Microsoft Copilot Explained, Microsoft Copilot Engage and Microsoft Copilot Champions. The first of these is the clearest fit for a manager who wants practical judgement about AI without a long technical programme.
Matching the course to the manager's need
| Need | Likely fit | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Understand what AI can do before committing time | Microsoft Copilot Explained or ChatGPT for Busy Decision Makers | Broad orientation; less hands-on depth |
| Use AI in day-to-day work | ChatGPT for Professionals or Introduction to Microsoft 365 Copilot | More practice, but needs time away from the diary |
| Lead adoption across a team | Microsoft Copilot Champions or Copilot Engage | Suits those expected to support colleagues, not just their own work |
| Push existing Copilot use further | Copilot for Advanced Users | Assumes some familiarity; less useful as a first step |
A practical next step
Decide first whether the goal is personal productivity or team adoption. A manager who mainly wants to judge AI proposals, draft faster and ask better questions should start with the busy-decision-maker or Copilot-explained course. A manager expected to champion the tool across a department should look at the champions or engage options. The site also offers face-to-face and online instructor-led formats, so check which suits a manager's schedule before booking.
For comparison, Microsoft's own learning resources at Microsoft Learn cover Copilot mechanics in detail, while OpenAI publishes guidance on ChatGPT use. These are useful for self-study; a short live course is more about applying the tools to management decisions.
How can I verify training quality through testimonials or published success metrics?
Use the site’s own published success metrics first, then test them against testimonials that describe a specific course and outcome. Management training, Soft skills, Power BI, Excel Learning solutions publishes figures such as 99.26% of training objectives met, a 98.3% customer recommendation rate, a claim that public courses are never cancelled, and a searchable bank of 109,332 testimonials. Those are useful starting signals, but they are the provider’s own reported numbers, so treat them as claims to probe rather than independent proof.
A practical verification routine
- Check that the metric is defined. Ask what “training objectives met” means, who records it, and whether it is measured immediately after the course or later at work.
- Match testimonials to your use case. For Excel or Power BI, look for comments on practical exercises, datasets and follow-up support. For management or soft skills, look for comments on behaviour change and manager feedback.
- Look for named reviewers and roles. A quote from a learning and development manager, such as the Home Office example on the page, carries more weight than an anonymous “great course” remark.
- Ask for a reference call. Request a contact in a similar sector and team size, and ask what changed in their work after training.
- Compare like with like. A high recommendation score across all courses does not prove a specific advanced Excel or leadership programme fits your team.
What the published evidence can and cannot tell you
| Evidence type | What it supports | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Aggregate satisfaction and recommendation rates | General customer experience | Sample size, survey timing, response rate |
| “Objectives met” percentage | Course design and delivery against stated aims | How objectives are set and assessed |
| Searchable testimonials | Breadth of clients and course types | Whether reviews are filtered or moderated |
| “Courses never cancelled” claim | Reliability of public scheduling | Terms for low-enrolment courses |
For an independent cross-check, look at reviews on recognised training directories or professional networks, and compare with other providers such as Learning Tree or QA where relevant. As a next step, shortlist two courses, send both providers the same three questions about measurement and references, and compare the answers rather than the headline percentages.
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