What To Look For With IT Training Providers

If you're searching for IT Training Providers, it follows that you're about to make a choice on who will train you. So let's look at the options available, and let's consider a few possibilities about where you're at right now:

You may be studying so you can change jobs.

You'd like to develop a skill set that will enable you to do well.

You don't want to be worried about gaps in your current understanding.

The qualifications you get MUST be able to get you short-listed for interview.

You're looking for the right advice, usable training, decent support, and won't be ripped-off on price.

If you're answering yes to the majority of the above, then you should click for our info pack right now!

Choosing your IT Training Provider...

So what's on offer out there?

If you're looking for employable commercial skills, it's probably best to ignore Universities. Degrees tend to be too academic, not specific enough for today's IT jobs and very over-priced...

Just look at any IT Jobsite and you'll see that most companies are looking for commercial qualifications.

So how do I get commercial qualifications? There are two ways historically:

The first is Boot Camps. These are massively intensive 10-14 week training sessions that are designed to get you a qualification quickly. If you're sharp and good at learning, they will. However, employers are often not impressed with Boot Camp students as they don't really have a good enough understanding of their skill to handle some of the day to day challenges thrown up in industry. Most of your classmates on these types of courses are experienced IT professionals who use them to upgrade their skills, so they're already starting with a good understanding of the subject.

The second is the Distance Learning College. In the past we've worked with the best of these colleges, and it is possible to be successful, but you'll need steely drive and commitment! Most of these colleges couldn't make a profit if large numbers of their students didn't drop out on the way. So insist on seeing an example of their training, and judge for yourself whether you can learn from it. If they won't let you see it, we suggest that you don't train with them!

Find out exactly how their support works. You'll need access to tutors at the times you intend to study, not a message system for a call back later in office hours.

Watch out also for companies who like money up-front for your exams. Why do you think that is? Because they want your money earning interest in their accounts rather than yours!

If these kind of IT training providers don't sound right for you, try LearningLolly for a refreshing alternative. Click for our information pack...

Frankly Speaking... thoughts for the day!

What Is The Best 'Structured' Way To Study And Retain What You're Learning?

Having a structured study programme makes all the difference to the amount and degree of knowledge we can retain. The order of study is vital for long-term retention. Stepped, incremental education establishes frames of reference to build on and add knowledge to. By learning the basics and fundamental principles first, students can build on this stable foundation. Understanding why something works the way it does helps to frame meaning into what you learn.

The best modern structured learning accommodates the natural ways that human beings absorb information. For most people, reading words alone is a less than effective medium. We use up our brainpower processing letters on a page into meaning, having to read, process and remember all at the same time.

Fortunately, gone are the days when the only way we could research information was via the written word, and we were subjected to a 'one size fits all' type of instruction. It's well understood that our learning receptors are visual, auditory and kinesthetic. We look and see things; hear and listen to things, and touch, feel and sense things. By stimulating each of those senses when teaching a subject, the student absorbs and retains information at a much deeper level.

Interactive learning incorporates watching and listening to demonstrations, then having a go yourself to practice and commit the work to memory via repetition. This method of study repetition and cycling lines up neuron tracks in the brain, which strengthens the capacity for recall. Just as a pony can trek for miles without guidance because he's been there so many times, so students can establish good recall by repetition. It is also very useful to use patterns for remembering by the use of rhymes, mnemonics and visual pictures in your mind.

Structured studying also calls for goal planning. It's essential to define what you want, why you want it, and when you want it by. Display photos on your wall of what you want to achieve. This reinforces the message both to you and those around you, and helps you to stay committed. Schedule a study diary, with days, times and study breaks, and a tick off list to show your learning progress. Also: Know how to deal with mental blocks when you get stuck (See 'What Do I Do When I get Stuck in My Studies?')

The best interactive training courses are structured for the student to learn in the most user-friendly, productive manner. Everything is in place for a progressive, retentive learning experience that will serve the student well throughout his or her career. All the trainee needs is consistency and a willingness to learn.