Talent Acquisition and Employer Branding Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Talent Acquisition Managers, Recruiters and Talent Partners and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-HM-128

Before you join: Participants should have practical exposure to recruitment, HR operations, workforce planning or employee communications.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Talent acquisition teams are expected to fill critical roles quickly while protecting employment brand credibility, improving candidate experience and controlling recruitment spend. These demands are difficult when workforce plans are unclear, hiring managers use inconsistent selection methods, employer brand claims lack evidence, and sourcing activity is measured only by application volume. Poorly designed recruitment processes also create avoidable candidate drop-off, offer declines, bias risk and weak quality-of-hire outcomes.

This course develops the practical methods needed to connect workforce demand, employee value proposition (EVP), employer branding and recruitment delivery. Participants learn to segment talent audiences, research candidate motivations, define credible EVP pillars, build employer brand messages, map candidate journeys and plan targeted sourcing campaigns. They also apply structured selection methods, inclusive job advertising, offer management controls and recruitment analytics. The course shows how to measure conversion, time-to-fill, source quality, candidate experience and quality of hire, then use evidence to improve decisions.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with realistic cases, group analysis, simulations and individual application planning. Participants work with examples such as recruiting digital specialists for a bank, frontline service staff for a public agency, technical roles for an infrastructure programme and scarce professionals for an international NGO. They leave with a set of reusable planning tools and a 90-day implementation plan for improving a live or anticipated recruitment challenge. Successful participants receive a certificate of completion.

The course is suited to HR and recruitment professionals who already support hiring activity and need a more disciplined approach to talent attraction, EVP development, employer brand management and recruitment performance improvement.

What you will be able to do

  • Design a workforce-aligned talent acquisition strategy with clear operating accountabilities
  • Construct an evidence-based employee value proposition for priority talent segments
  • Create an employer brand message house with substantiated recruitment claims
  • Map candidate personas and journeys to identify conversion barriers and experience improvements
  • Plan targeted sourcing and recruitment marketing campaigns using audience and channel data
  • Apply structured interviews, work samples and scoring methods for consistent selection
  • Analyse recruitment funnel metrics, source quality and quality-of-hire indicators
  • Produce a 90-day talent acquisition and employer branding implementation plan

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Build a credible EVP using employee, candidate and labour-market evidence
  • Write stronger employer brand messages without unsupported cultural claims
  • Diagnose candidate drop-off and offer declines using journey mapping
  • Run more consistent interviews with anchored scoring and STAR probing
  • Present recruitment performance findings with decision-ready metrics

For your organisation

  • Better alignment between workforce priorities and recruitment investment
  • More credible attraction messages for scarce and priority talent
  • Reduced candidate abandonment through clearer journey and communication standards
  • More consistent hiring decisions through structured assessment methods
  • Improved visibility of source quality, recruitment cost and hiring outcomes

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can translate workforce demand into a governed talent acquisition strategy.

  • Business strategy translated into demand, capability, location and timing assumptions
  • Headcount planning distinguishes replacement hiring, growth roles, contingencies and internal mobility
  • Build-versus-buy decisions tested against talent availability, cost and time-to-productivity
  • Workforce segmentation identifies pivotal roles, scarce skills and hiring risk
  • Talent acquisition operating models define central, embedded and outsourced accountabilities
  • RACI matrix assigns requisition approval, sourcing, assessment and offer responsibilities

Participants can develop an evidence-based employee value proposition for defined talent segments.

  • Employee value proposition separates employment experience from external recruitment messaging
  • EVP research combines employee interviews, focus groups, surveys and exit data
  • Jobs-to-be-Done interviews reveal candidate motivations, anxieties and decision criteria
  • Segmented EVP pillars address critical talent audiences without unsupported promises
  • Proof points connect rewards, careers, leadership and culture to evidence
  • EVP governance assigns claim owners, review cycles and evidence requirements

Participants can create consistent employer brand messages grounded in EVP evidence.

  • Employer brand architecture aligns corporate brand, EVP, talent segments and channels
  • Brand positioning statement defines audience, category, differentiator, reasons-to-believe and tone
  • Message house translates EVP pillars into audience-specific recruitment narratives
  • Content pillars balance employee stories, role realities, development and purpose
  • Claim substantiation prevents culture-washing, misleading imagery and unapproved employee endorsements
  • Channel governance protects brand consistency across careers sites, agencies and managers

Participants can map candidate journeys and specify improvements to priority experience moments.

  • Candidate personas combine labour-market data, motivations, barriers and media habits
  • Journey mapping traces awareness, consideration, application, selection, offer and onboarding
  • Moments that matter identify abandonment risks and trust-building interventions
  • Candidate experience standards specify response times, ownership and escalation routes
  • Accessibility review addresses mobile completion, plain language and reasonable adjustments
  • Candidate Net Promoter Score captures referral intent and experience feedback

Participants can select and manage sourcing approaches for different talent market conditions.

  • Talent market mapping identifies target employers, skill adjacencies and talent pools
  • Boolean search strings combine role terms, skills, exclusions and location filters
  • Passive candidate outreach uses relevance, credibility, consent and clear calls-to-action
  • Referral programmes set reward rules, conflict safeguards and candidate communication
  • Talent communities segment prospects, consent records, content cadence and re-engagement triggers
  • Agency briefing documents define role evidence, service levels and reporting

Participants can plan recruitment campaigns and write clearer, more inclusive attraction content.

  • Recruitment campaign briefs define audience, objective, proposition, budget and measurement
  • Paid, owned and earned media selected against persona behaviour
  • AIDA copywriting structures job advertising around attention, interest, desire and action
  • Job adverts distinguish essential criteria, realistic role previews and inclusive language
  • Landing page conversion checks assess message match, friction and application completion
  • Campaign calendars coordinate vacancies, content production, approvals and media flights

Participants can design consistent, job-relevant selection processes with stronger bias controls.

  • Selection design links job analysis, competencies, assessments and hiring decisions
  • Structured interviews use behavioural questions, anchored scales and evidence notes
  • STAR probing tests candidate actions, judgement, outcomes and personal contribution
  • Work samples replicate critical tasks using consistent instructions and scoring
  • Adverse impact checks compare assessment outcomes across relevant demographic groups
  • Panel calibration reduces halo effects, similarity bias and inconsistent thresholds

Participants can manage offers and preboarding while protecting candidate trust and data rights.

  • Offer management balances internal equity, market position, approvals and candidate expectations
  • Total reward communication explains salary, benefits, incentives and non-financial value
  • Preboarding plans maintain contact, verify conditions and prepare first-day essentials
  • Offer decline analysis classifies reasons, competitor patterns and controllable failures
  • Data privacy controls govern candidate consent, retention, access and deletion
  • Recruitment ethics address conflicts, confidentiality, transparency and reasonable adjustments

Participants can interpret recruitment data and prioritise improvements using meaningful measures.

  • Recruitment funnel metrics distinguish reach, conversion, speed, quality and cost
  • Source-of-hire analysis compares volume, conversion, retention and hiring-manager satisfaction
  • Time-to-fill decomposes approval, sourcing, selection, offer and acceptance delays
  • Quality-of-hire scorecards combine performance, retention, ramp-up and manager ratings
  • Dashboard design separates leading indicators, lagging outcomes and decision thresholds
  • Experiment design tests recruitment messages, channels and process changes responsibly

Participants can prepare a practical implementation plan for talent acquisition and employer branding priorities.

  • Talent acquisition strategy converts workforce priorities into quarterly hiring objectives
  • Operating rhythm sets vacancy reviews, campaign reviews and stakeholder decisions
  • Stakeholder maps identify sponsors, hiring managers, employees, agencies and executives
  • Implementation roadmaps sequence quick wins, dependencies, owners and success measures
  • Risk registers track approval delays, capacity constraints, brand claims and bias
  • Personal application plans specify priorities, milestones, evidence and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Workforce-aligned talent acquisition strategy template
  2. Evidence-based employee value proposition canvas
  3. Candidate persona and journey-map pack
  4. Employer brand message house
  5. Structured interview scorecard and STAR question bank
  6. Recruitment metrics dashboard specification and 90-day implementation plan

Who should attend

  • Talent Acquisition Managers — need to improve recruitment strategy, delivery controls and hiring outcomes
  • Recruiters and Talent Partners — need stronger sourcing, candidate engagement and selection methods
  • Employer Brand Managers — need to connect brand claims with recruitment evidence and audience needs
  • HR Business Partners — need to translate workforce priorities into practical hiring plans
  • Recruitment Marketing Specialists — need to plan measurable campaigns for priority talent segments
  • HR Managers — need governance, metrics and consistent candidate experience across hiring activity

Skills and tools covered

Talent acquisition strategyEmployee value propositionEmployer brand messagingCandidate journey mappingStructured selectionRecruitment analytics

Tools and standards

RACI matrix, STAR interview method, AIDA model, Candidate Net Promoter Score (cNPS)

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by case work, group analysis, simulations and individual planning. Participants assess recruitment scenarios, compare EVP evidence, build audience messages, diagnose candidate journeys and interpret recruitment dashboards. Selection simulations use structured interview questions, work samples and scoring criteria. Cases reflect common hiring challenges in banking, public services, NGOs, infrastructure and multinational firms. Each participant prepares a focused application plan that can be discussed with their manager after the course.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical exposure to recruitment, HR operations, workforce planning or employee communications. They should understand the basic recruitment lifecycle, including requisitions, job descriptions, sourcing, interviews and offers. Experience working with hiring managers or recruitment agencies is useful. No previous employer branding qualification, marketing degree, specialist analytics training or experience with a particular applicant tracking system is required. Participants do not need to bring completed workforce plans or recruitment data, although a current hiring challenge will make the application planning more relevant.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should understand the basic recruitment lifecycle and have some exposure to HR, recruitment, workforce planning or employee communications. No specialist employer branding, marketing analytics or applicant tracking system experience is required.

Bring a current or anticipated recruitment challenge, such as a hard-to-fill role, high offer-decline rate or inconsistent candidate experience. You may also bring anonymised job adverts, recruitment metrics or candidate feedback if organisational policy permits.

The course is designed for talent acquisition managers, recruiters, talent partners, employer brand specialists, HR business partners and HR managers. It is most useful for professionals who influence hiring plans, attraction activity, selection processes or recruitment performance.

Recruitment skills courses often focus on interviewing, sourcing or vacancy management alone. This course connects those activities with workforce planning, EVP research, employer brand positioning, candidate experience and performance measurement.

Participants leave with reusable templates for EVP, candidate journeys, messaging, structured selection and recruitment analytics. The final module produces a 90-day implementation plan tied to a live organisational priority.

The programme runs for five days from 08:30 to 16:30, with about 6.5 contact hours each day. Ten modules progress from talent acquisition strategy and EVP through sourcing, assessment, analytics and implementation planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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