I wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts regarding my recent experience with SkillPath, as I believe feedback is essential for growth and improvement in any business. While I had high expectations and was excited about the opportunity to learn, I unfortunately encountered several challenges that negatively impacted my experience: Missed the education class. I asked to reschedule or to give credit back. The invoice had been PAID. They told me they would not credit or reschedule my class. NEVER AGAIN OR REFERR ABYONE TO SKILLPATH. Will report to my crop office to make sure they do not send any of our company employees to Skillpath. read more

I was a senior trainer for Skillpath many years ago. Perhaps they have turned over a new leaf, but from reading other reviews, it appears that they have not. I recall one class where they had me stay in a hotel under renovation on one side of town and another under renovation on the other side for the class sessions. That meant that I taught a lot of classes in very noisy and sometimes dirty environments. Air travel was the same. I kept wondering why my connections were so terrible. Then I found out that they simply chose the cheapest flights. I wondered why it so often occurred that I had to spend all day Sunday getting to a city not too far from Denver, my base. I asked the travel department if they had a cut-off for my time, like for example, not taking a $25 savings if it wasted 5 hours of my time. They would not comment. Once I needed to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances. They said they would look into it. When I called back they said no-one was available. I knew another Senior Trainer of theirs who could do it. When I called him, he said they never contacted him. There were only three of us qualified to teach that class, so this would have taken them two phone calls max to arrange it. What rankles me the most is that these people are getting away with being a 501-c3 charity. I would like to know what the compensation is for each of the top officers. They had a "trainer manager" whose sole credential was a stint as an improv comic. The company decided to get into teaching budgets, and he created the training materials. He had never had a budgeting class, let alone taught one, and had never received training on creating materials. Those were some of the worst I ever trained from. Skillpath people had intense interest in seeing copies of my training materials I used in my own classes. More than once, they sent me copies of training materials that did not carry their logo, and asked me to edit them (for free) for them. I declined. Full disclosure: I am retired from the training field and own no stock and have no interest in any of their competitors. I checked in with them a few years ago, and found that if you factored in travel time, the rate they then paid was below minimum wage. If you do decide to take a Skillpath class, consider buying the trainer lunch. S/he could probably use it. read more

So, I registered for a course 12-weeks out. I read the fine print; all I could find on the website, etc. After a few days I found that most reviews report that this is more of a sales pitch. I call to cancel and was told there is a hidden $10 charge for cancelation, even mere days after reservations. I want to make sure that this review saves others from the $10 charge. If SkillPath loses more than $10 due to my review I really hope their hidden fees are well worth it. I did try to revolve this, SkillPath admits there isn't a clear cancelation charge indicated anywhere. They were quite rude about the whole thing. Buyer beware. read more

Update: I just want to at least point out that while my review may be very negative - this is based upon the particular class that I participated in. I spoke with two people from customer service about my experience - Beth and Nicki (Nikki?) and was very impressed with how quickly they handled my requests. I'm adding one star to this review because of the two of them. Thank you, Beth and Nicki! I participated in an all-day Excel "workshop" in Concord, California on March 23rd. I was incredibly disappointed by the waste of time and the waste of money. The majority of the "class" was being pressured to buy a $200 Excel book and a variety of other materials. After two hours of being looped through all these stories about why we NEED the book, a fellow student blurted out "Just show us something, anything! Just get on your computer and show us something!" After that the teacher showed us some Excel tricks. For the rest of the class he would then say something with the woman's name, asking her if she was alright with what he was saying. I felt like the woman was unfairly being singled out and what the "guide" (since he said he wasn't there to teach us Excel) was doing was very rude. I don't know how the woman stayed the whole class through that. I sent an email to customer service the next day and was responded with by telling me that the director would be in touch via MAIL after researching my situation. I'm sorry, but I don't think mail is the best way to address a big issue. Here we are 10 days later, no letter, I'm still upset so I'm utilizing the next method of addressing my problem - The internet. (Update: I did receive my letter 2.5 weeks later) I met a woman who had spent her own money to take the class to prepare for a job interview the next day. She was pretty bummed that she would be no better-off than she was originally for her interview, plus she was out the cash she spent on the course itself. I should add that we never actually used computers - it was just watching the Guide click around on his laptop a few times to quickly show us how to do things. I walked away learning that everything we need to know is in the right-click of a mouse. Cool, so glad my work spent $150 plus an entire day of worktime to have me go to this class. I also missed a Grilled Cheese Party, not cool. Not cool at all. I ended up signing up through another company to take their Excel course and it was AMAZING. They didn't once try to sell us ANYTHING and the class was so well organized from start to finish. It was the complete opposite of the course I took with SkillPath. In conclusion, I've been describing this class as sitting through live infomercial mixed with a timeshare presentation over the time span of a graduation of 1,000 people. Obviously, I do NOT recommend the beginning Excel course from SkillPath. read more

I attended the "How to Become a Better Communicator" seminar. It was held at a downtown hotel. The seminar is set up like a class room where the instructor is in the front of the room using overheads as part of the instruction. There were times we had to split into teams to do communication exercises. It was a great networking opportunity. I got to know the girl sitting next to me quite well since we partnered up to do a lot of the exercises. The course includes a class booklet and the seminar tries to sell you books and DVDs that are completely overpriced. The one thing that drives me crazy is that ever since I signed up with Skillpath, they have been sending me mailings non-stop. Even when I tell them to unsubscribe me from email, they keep sending me emails! read more

I found this organization to be very unprofessional. 8/1/2012 They wanted to hire me as a contract trainer and made me jump through hoop after hoop, spend MY time and MY money to come to Kansas to interview, then and discarded me like a dirty dish towel. The Faculty Coach Recruiter Debra H., showed up for my meeting in shorts! Really? Your a company looking for top notch sophisticated professional trainers and you show up in shorts..unbelievable (I was told to be in a business suit and I was) - Debra was dressed like a Southwest Airline flight attendant! RUDE! The other "executives" (and I use this term lightly) showed up 15 minutes late for the audition meeting and looked like they had slept in the clothes they were wearing the night before (can you say FRUMPY?) So, there I was, flying out for my final interview audition prepped, polished and early and who shows up to greet me: THE KEYSTONE COPS SKILLPATH WRECKING TEAM- Honestly, I have been treated with more respect from homeless people! It gets worse- When the "Execu-Trash" group showed up - they put a timer/clock in front of me and said you have 30 minutes - GO! No business card exchange, no title - no last name - nothing!! They all really seemed to be bothered by having to be there! Welcome to F-ing Kansas! During the audition, the lack of interest and sophistication of "Crew Frumpy" was appalling. While conducting roles plays (as part of the prescribed exercise) not a single one of them could put a sentence together that even made sense. Debra H. actually looks up at me and says "I hate role plays" ..REALLY? She proceeds to butcher the exercise and embarrass herself in front of her colleagues (I mean Frumpmates) .........what a mess this company is! Please keep in mind I am already a contract trainer for 3 other national competitors of theirs. I don't think I will be associated with such a rag tag, low budget unprofessional group as Skillpath. What a waste of time and money. Toto- I don't think I want to be in Kansas anymore! read more

This was the biggest waste of time and money I've probably ever experienced. This program is a scam. Attended a copywriting workshop that promised to "make you a better copywriter in 2 days by teaching the most effective tactics in copywriting today" (paraphrase). I have been a professional copywriter for several years now, and I can tell you with certainty that this class was bullshit. I think they just hope that anyone who attends knows nothing about the subject/speciality-- too bad they got me. It was all a bunch of fluff with zero substance-- and the few copywriting terms introduced were incorrectly applied. I was too polite to call out the instructor (who is actually a very pleasant man, to be fair) in front of the other three people attending, but I left midway into the second day. Oh and the best part was when the instructor spent an hour going over all of the skill path "materials" we needed to buy (there were many) in order for us to reach "the kingdom of copywriters." A good chunk of the class was basically a sales pitch, and the class itself was click-bait. Also - I should add that this total waste of time cost my company $800 and two days of work. Not cool. This is a pyramid scheme. Buyer beware. read more

I attended "How to become a Better Communicator" seminar in San Diego last year. While there were a few good points about how to have a productive conversation with superiors and coworkers on the whole, it was a horrible waste of time. At least 1/2 of the seminar was dedicated towards trying to sell you materials or future seminars. Almost more annoying than that is the dozens of random and useless solicitations I have received since. They range from advertisements for sign companies to offers to attend "VIP" seminars. I politely asked them to remove my name and they told me it would take 6 months. Don't waste your time or money with these guys. read more

Purchased leadership and management series which consisted of 4 DVD's. DVD's were in an unsupported format making it impossible to view on my dvd via my DVD player. Once information could be viewed on my laptop, it was very generic and subsurface info. Back to the drawing board. Definitely a waste of $200 and a huge waste of my time. I DO NOT recommend. read more

I recently sent 4 professional employees to the Conference for Women. All four returned having found little value in the day long seminar. They were sent because of skill gaps but reported that the information shared was little more than basic common sense (eg. count to 10 when agitated). The extensive sales pitch to purchase their materials took up valuable time that could have been spent providing valuable coaching on these important topics. The price is low for a reason - very little value added. I will not use this company again as a staff development resource. read more

I attended an Administrative Assistant seminar and was extremely disappointed with the outdated and basic content. Things like "Try saying please and thank you" when trying to get someone to do what you want... If you have common sense, no need to attend this seminar. read more

Let me state right off that this review is not about the content of the conference, nor is it about the educators. In short, I was extremely pleased with the tools and tips I took away and I would love to return to take a different track. However... I attended The Assistant's Conference in Saddle Brook, NJ. The venue was the absolute pits. I simply can't believe you sent your amazing instructors to such a filthy no-tell motel. The 2 other ladies I attended the conference with were actually harassed by some weird, perverted guy who tried to pick us up. The hotel was disgusting and the staff (while all very nice) seemed to dress to match the place... one of the staff members was actually working in house slippers. Turns out she was the daughter of the skeevy old man who tried to hit on us. There was an advertised coffee station with no coffee. Everything was old, gross, run down and dirty. How could you hold a conference in a place that obviously hadn't been touched by a decorator since the early 80s? The place desperately needs a good terminal cleaning. Don't use organic products here, because that just won't do. Use chemicals. PLEASE. The more caustic, the better. I went home and took a Silkwood shower. If you feel that assistants don't deserve to attend conferences in the same places that executives go to, you're mistaken. Make this right, Skillpath. Until the conference is held in a place that isn't repulsive, I won't be attending another. read more

I just completed "Certification" for new Skillpath trainers last week. It was very intense and sort of like "boot camp"! Days were MON - THR and Skillpath paid for hotel. They booked the airline and car rental for me, which I paid, but am being reimbursed by Skillpath. So basically it was all at their expense. This was a great training experience! I am grateful that SkillPath has invested in me and made me a valuable team member. I am glad they set their expectations clearly up front. Everything was explained very well. I was impressed with the organization of the training process! the faculty, Gary and Debra, were very professional and represented Skillpath well. They really poured their heart and soul into teaching and giving valuable, practical feedback. I appreciated their generous extension of time, energy, and effort. This helps us become better trainers for Skillpath! Nice job. I was really impressed with Skillpath being so organized, especially the documentation, training call, and updates. I enjoyed watching the videos later on, including the faculty feedback. Very professionally done! I believe that SkillPath has set the bar high for us trainers, because it means higher quality seminars for participants. read more

I received two letters from this company. I have no idea how this company got my name. I have never heard of them. I called to request they remove me from their list. I was told I had to send them the letter I received in order to do so. ? What? YOU sent ME a letter. YOU have MY name. Why do I have to send YOU anything? I then sent an email asking to be removed, but the email was blocked. ?? What the hell kind of company is this? read more

I've attended several SkillPath seminars over the years, most recently HR Law in Asheville NC. They are a good and easy way to earn credits for re-certifying for SHRM. The goods the offer are expensive but informative. My only critique is that I wish the would spend less time on pitching the support material and more time on what I've paid to learn. read more

I attended two training sessions at the Everett, WA Best Western through Skill Path. One was Excelling as a Manager or Supervisor and the other was Leadership & Management Skills for Women. The women's seminar was highly offensive and outdated and you could tell the material was probably written about 20 or 30 years ago. It used phrases like "women are too emotional in the workplace" and "women need to learn how to communicate and interact with men". These views are VERY dated and I honestly don't know how they continue to perpetuate these stereotypes about women in the workplace. To top it all off, the Best Western we were at had double booked two training conferences on the same day. They decided it would be a good idea to split one room into two with a flimsy divider. The entire class all I could hear was the other instructor and the video he was playing for half the class. Then random laughing from the students in the other class. It was a waste of time and money and I would not recommend that class or any of the classes geared towards women. Moreover, the temperature in the location was not staying consistent and it would get too hot and then too cold and the entire day. They finally had a maintenance guy take a look at the thermostat but it was still having issues. I was disappointed in the subject material and the quality of the location chosen. read more

Very unprofessional!! I attended an OSHA "training" on 2/13/18. In short we were given a sales pitch to buy into their subscription website and all of the reference material which was suppose to be available to us during breaks was also sold to others attending the training throughout the day. *Keep in mind the entire morning was used showing us how to make company policies on this website that we have to pay for so I still don't know how to do this unless I pay for their products. If this wasn't enough of a reason to not attend SkillPath training our teacher often got off topic about personal topics which had nothing to do with the training and told us to rare him all 9's or 10's on our review at the end of the course. My advice, save your money and time and get your training through another company! read more

I recently attended an Advanced Microsoft Excel Technique 2-day class. I am proficient in excel as I use it daily but I wanted to brush up on more advanced techniques that I don't always utilize. I've taken a few Skillpath classes/seminars in the past that I wasn't crazy about, so I was hesitant to take this class. I was pleasantly surprised as the class actually focused on teaching rather than pushing book/DVD sales. The class was 2 full days but we took breaks often so the time passed quickly. Also, the other participants in the class seemed knowledgeable and didn't drag the class down by asking basic questions that could be addressed in a beginner level course. I guess it all depends on the instructor that you receive but I enjoyed this class and would recommend to anyone else who wants to learn more about pivot tables, macros, v/h-lookups, etc. read more

Watch out for the 'CANCELLATION CLAUSE' . They tell you in a e-mail confirmation to watch for the cancellation clause, but they neglect to tell you what it is. BEWARE....They will charge you the FULL price unless you CANCEL 5-6 days before Seminar. I have not went to their Seminar and I am already upset with them and will never go!! read more

I just attended the Social Media Skillpath conference in Washington, DC. It was absolutely top-notch; for $200, it was a day well spent. We had a fantastic instructor who was very forthcoming with good information -- the kind of things that I would have paid a web consultant or other social media expert a lot of money to do for me. There is some upselling of DVDs, books and other conferences, but I didn't find it at all intrusive or overbearing. read more

I recently attended a recorded training which was OK but Skillpath sent me the wrong information regarding accessing the course so I missed part of it. I called to complain and their customer service was horrible; all I received was a lot of attitude. I complained again on their website about their poor customer service and was told I would be sent a free recording; which I never received even though I followed up multiple times. Too much time wasted on a less than average company; don't waste your time and money. read more

Dan Howard was an AMAZING seminar leader. I attended the 2 day seminar on First Time Managers and Supervisors and was really impressed by Dan. He was funny, super knowledgeable and relatable. He spoke to us not AT us and held the classes attention for the 2 days. The information that was taught was vital to ANYONE looking to step up their game at work and honestly in life. I am so happy that I was in this class. I look forward to the other ones I signed up for. Thanks DAN!! You Rock! read more

Attended the Managers and Supervisors conference in San Bernardino CA--my company decided to send several people to this training. It was mainly a sales pitch for their books and CDs; most of the 'insights' about management came from various well-known management books like 7 Habits or were quotes from Zig Ziglar. Very unoriginal and mainly just gave highlights, leading you to buy the books and CDs if you want to get in depth. I would stay away from these seminars, not worth your time, money or travel expenses to get there. read more

Do not attend! Customer service is absolutely terrible! This is for the OSHA training seminar as well as some as the Microsoft and various other classes, I went too. The instructor was decent if you have no knowledge of regulations but you could learn as much with a quick hour of actually reading the regulations. The one star rating is for customer service. In my 30 years of attending training and working with and for OSHA, DTCS, EPA, I've never encountered such a terrible costumer support team; over billed me and completely unprofessional during every occasion and will no longer even attempt training from this company. They are all about the money and I highly recommend avoiding training from this company; save yourself the hassle and find training elsewhere. I've never experienced such terrible customer service in my life. read more

Took a mandatory corporate training on giving and receiving feedback. Materials were disjointed and poorly organized. For example, we spent 20 minutes taking about what emotional intelligence is, then it was never mentioned or utilized again. Waste of time and whatever money my organization paid for it. read more

I have attended 6 SkillPath seminars. I bought the unlimited seminars (Total Access) for a year for $600. I did this to have a good reason to get out of being in the office whenever I felt like it. So far, so good! The seminars are decent; they do use some of the training time to talk about the materials (DVDs, books, CDs, etc.) that are for sale. But it's never been pushy at all. I'd say the tim I have spent so far at the seminars have been pretty worthwhile. It all depends on the instructor you have. I've had a couple mediocre instructors, and 2 that were AWESOME--Dawn Jones and Ken Fritz. Dawn taught the organizing multiple projects and Ken taught the Excelling as a Supervisor class. Both are top-notch instructors who kept the class engaged and interested. I'd say that overall, I've gotten well more than my company's moneys worth, by attending 6 seminars with 7 months left to go on the TotalAccess plan. read more

Extremely unprofessional. After applying for a trainer position almost 2 years ago, I was contacted last month by their HR person. She asked me if I would be interested in a job as an appointment setter. This was going to be a huge step down for me, professionally and financially, but desperate times call for desperate measures, so I said that I was interested. First of all, "appointment setter" was their term for cold-call sales. This was not explained at all until several weeks later during the phone interview. The phone interview was very strange. I was only asked 2 questions before I was expected to start asking the questions. The interviewer did much more talking than I did. Unfortunately, I came away from the phone call knowing even less than I did at the beginning. She was very confusing, used a lot of buzz words, and seemed to do a lot of double-talk. Very unprofessional, very deceptive. Next, I was asked to come in to the Mission location for an interview with the Hiring Manager. Long story short: Three different women had me sign papers, no one introduced themselves, I was forced to walk between buildings in 20degree temperatures with no coat, the "Hiring Manager" Jennie wore jeans, a t-shirt, a ratty cardigan and huge, tacky, fake jewelry (extremely unprofessional) while she looked like she hadn't brushed her hair in days (bed-head on one side) and make-up that had seen better days and/or nights. To top it all off, I was interviewed along side a 19-year-old girl who basically brown-nosed her way through the interview. She paraphrased every single one of my answers all the while complimenting Jennie, her jewelry, her "management style", and the "great work environment." I gave honest answers backed-up by YEARS of call-center experience. I left the interview knowing that there was no way in hell I would want to work for that company. My plan, had I been hired, was to move up quickly, out of the sales department. Apparently, Jennie saw that I was over-qualified for the cold-call sales job and may have been fearful that I was more qualified than she, for the Call Center Manager position, as she did not offer me a job. I was shocked that she did not bother with even a phone call to tell me as much; I was notified via email that I would not be offered a position. Once again proving that Skillpath Seminars is quite possibly the most unprofessional company with which I've ever interviewed. When searching for a new job, my advice is: 1. Question "why" a company who claims to be so reputable and professional needs cold-call salespeople. Shouldn't a good product/service speak for itself? 2. Look for the signs of a lack of professionalism: double-talk nonsense, unkempt attire, etiquette of introductions, etc. 3. If the company's name is Skillpath Seminars, run the other way! read more

Haven't gone yet, but interested in signing up for Track 2.. Wanted to make sure this isn't a sales pitch and what others thought.. read a few of the comments below and I'm at a 40/60 on the not going side.. Did anyone really take away some useful info?? read more

BUYER BEWARE - when you sign up for a course, they make it appear that a book is required for an additional fee, after finding out that they were not required I tried to cancel them, 1 hour after ordering them and they refused to cancel the $25each ($100) books, we had signed up for several courses and ordered the books, the courses were months away, but they sent out the books immediately, whether you want them or not, I emailed and spoke to a representative within 2 hours after making the original order and they rudely refused to cancel the books, we have since cancelled all the courses. We have been told that Skillpath Seminars are just sales pitches to try to sell you books and merchandise, which we learned early on. Also beware, if you cancel before the 5 days of the class, you will still be charged an undisclosed service fee. read more

Several people from my company attended a Skillpath seminar in Hartford CT. It was the worst most amateurish seminar I've ever been too! I attended the more technical track which turned out to be nothing more than one long question and answer session. I expected to get some insight and guidance from a professional. Instead I got a cursory introduction to the very basics of social networking with a lot of up selling of overpriced books and media. Don't waste your money. You can learn more in just a few minutes by surfing the net. I'm giving it one star only because I can't post this with less. read more

I took their management course in NY. It was horrible. The instructor gave us a photocopied book they made and we literally look thru it and she made a few comments. The book was about 20 pages. You can get better info just by doing a quick google search. At the back of the classroom they set up a able for you to buy books. I cant believe I wasted my money on this crap. read more

I and a colleague of mine signed up for this event for Social Media Marketing Conference, Orlando, FL. We were sent to improve on social media skills for our Industry and to be able to share with other employees of our organization for cross training purposes. For this all day seminar there was no value of knowledge taught that was not already known. The presenters had large egos and only wanted to sell their products and self proclaim books. Every question thrown their way they did not have a clue how to answer. One presenter kept loosing their train of thought. It was a waste of money as the seminar was extremely pricey. Even with the price paid their rooms were small no tables given for note taking or laptop placement. Also we had to provide our own meals and refreshments. Very little value added and will not use this company again as a staff development resource of any kind. False advertisement. read more