Job Training Schemes

SailorSam

Every week in one of our local free papers there are big adverts to encourage people to train for well paid jobs.

First one i'm looking at has been in week after week,...
Stuck in a dead end job.....train for a career in IT, average starting salaries of £38k
Advent, with a 0800 phone number
Next one, be a Plumber and earn up to £40k
BTSC, building trade skills centre and a 0845 phone
I think i've seen this second one offering training to become an electrician and a heating engineer as well.
They are obviously both trying to sell training, but my question is; are they worth it. Has anyone had any dealings with this type of company ?

darlo_fan

I am training with Advent atm, though due to work havent had much chance to study for a little while.

It is quite expensive, however you get a good skillset at the end of the course (my particular course will see me obtain Comptia A+ certification and Microsoft Certified Engineer status), though there are still the issues of getting a job, getting a job isnt easy, and while these training centres do aid in job searches you have to be aware that they cant guarantee you a job, I went into this with my eyes open, but hope to break into IT when I finish.

Aurelia_2

I haven't done any courses with Advent but I did work for them last year, phoning up leads to book people onto courses. The courses they offer may be very good but as a general word of warning the company itself didn't have great morals and the job description for the role I applied for was actually nothing like what I was doing - which is why I left.

So as general advice, just make sure that any dealings with them are backed up with something written so then you know for certain what you're getting into.

Also as another general piece of advice regarding IT jobs... As the credit crunch is hitting hard right now it's a good idea to check out the IT job market first to see what roles are actually being advertised on job sites and in the papers right now to see what you can earn, if you need to re-locate, etc.

TruthOrDare_2

Firstly, totally ignore what the adverts say about starting salaries of £38k, it is totally untrue. IT salaries on the whole start from £12-18k depending on what part of the country you are in, and prior skills/experience. Entry level jobs are notoriously hard to find, however once you find your first job, finding others will be a lot easier.

Secondly, training providers are horrible value for money. You can self-study for a fraction of the price. Plus there are plenty of free resources and forums that you can go to for help should you need it.

Third, the MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) is totally not needed for an entry level job in IT, and will actually put some employers off you due to you only being "paper" certified and not having the appropriate work experience. The MCSE is an advanced certification that you should only be doing after at least one year working with servers. Microsoft themselves say this.

To be working with servers, you need to work your way up from an entry-level job, gaining skills and experience, which will take at least a couple of years depending on what company you are with and their attitude is to training. However saying that, there are a LOT of clueless recruitment agencies who think MCSE is entry level, which is part of the reason why people do this course. So while agencies look up, employers look down.

True entry level certifications include the Comptia A+, followed by the Network+ and the Microsoft Desktop Support Technician (MCDST). All of these can be self-studied for a fraction of the cost of a training provider such as Advent.

darlo_fan

TruthOrDare wrote: »

Firstly, totally ignore what the adverts say about starting salaries of £38k, it is totally untrue. IT salaries on the whole start from £12-18k depending on what part of the country you are in, and prior skills/experience. Entry level jobs are notoriously hard to find, however once you find your first job, finding others will be a lot easier.

Secondly, training providers are horrible value for money. You can self-study for a fraction of the price. Plus there are plenty of free resources and forums that you can go to for help should you need it.

Third, the MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) is totally not needed for an entry level job in IT, and will actually put some employers off you due to you only being "paper" certified and not having the appropriate work experience. The MCSE is an advanced certification that you should only be doing after at least one year working with servers. Microsoft themselves say this.

To be working with servers, you need to work your way up from an entry-level job, gaining skills and experience, which will take at least a couple of years depending on what company you are with and their attitude is to training. However saying that, there are a LOT of clueless recruitment agencies who think MCSE is entry level, which is part of the reason why people do this course. So while agencies look up, employers look down.

True entry level certifications include the Comptia A+, followed by the Network+ and the Microsoft Desktop Support Technician (MCDST). All of these can be self-studied for a fraction of the cost of a training provider such as Advent.

To be fair to Advent, and other training providers they dont state that you will start on 38k, but that its the average pay - which it possibly is.

I understand costs would have been cheaper doing it myself, however with the course I am guaranteed to pass (they will pay until I do) but the main thing was using it as motivation.

I also fully understand that a non experienced MSCE will likely be laughed out of the interview but with the course the first part is to undertake the Comptia A+ IT Technician qualification (both parts) and from this point I can really start to push the job hunting, then hopefully I will be in an IT role while I continue my studies, gaining both qualifications and experience as I go so that my MSCE wont just be paper based (hopefully)

As I said, I've not gone into blindfolded, but there is a lot of hope involved.

Aurelia_2

I totally agree with what TruthOrDare has said! As for free resources, it's always worth checking out your local colleges because a lot of them offer free IT training, or very low cost training on certain packages to give you a head start when job hunting.

Also there's always the option of the Open University while you're working for an IT company and making your way through the ranks there to get to the job you want. Actually, as well as that, after spending time at a company and making it known you want to progress and give more back to their firm, then most will actually offer to send you on the training courses you need, which is always good as you then have a stable job (they're unlikely to fire someone they have invested money in) and the training paid for you so that you can get the job you want.

In the IT industry (in pretty much every sector) experience counts for just as much as qualifications. Sometimes more.

darlo_fan: Yes doing a course to give motivation can be a good idea so that's great you've taken that step and good luck with it all

darlo_fan

The problem with free IT courses is that generally the ECDL or similar, or certainly that was my experience when I was checking

I chose Advent for its flexible timescale, and the fact that I get the A+ early on in the course, luckily I didnt get any calls or hard sell, as I had done extensive research in courses, and decided that Advent would best suit me.

I could of got a guaranteed pass in 8 weeks for cheaper, undertaken in Goa I think, but I figured that I really wouldnt know much after 8 weeks.

Anyway, the advice is good in this thread, I certainly owuldnt push people down the same route I took, just I know it was the best route for me to take.

Ideally I would of gone down the self study route, but I'm a nightmare for being focussed, I think its because I know I would likely take a pay cut initially, so I thought start a course and then I will have to do it

SailorSam

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts. it's only an idea at the moment, i wondered if i could do any IT work from home. I was thinking maybe webdesign was the type of thing that could be done from home. The OU do a series of course that would take about 2 yrs, i've looked at them.
The other training schemes i mentioned about Plumbing etc were just put as examples of other training that seems to be in the press a lot, rather like these places trying to coax you to become a driving instructor, i wondered if they were all a scam. Thanks again for your advice.

nads

I found the following link for finding companies who provide training in various occupations...

http://www.sscalliance.org/Sectors/SectorSkillsCouncils/SectorSkillsCouncils.asp

Just want to reiterate £38k for IT is not viable, even after a fair few years - unlesss you specialise in something like Oracle, SAP, SAS, anything with an MCSE is a good starting point but even they won't get you more than £22k (as so many people have them)

nads

SailorSam wrote: »

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts. it's only an idea at the moment, i wondered if i could do any IT work from home. I was thinking maybe webdesign was the type of thing that could be done from home. The OU do a series of course that would take about 2 yrs, i've looked at them.
The other training schemes i mentioned about Plumbing etc were just put as examples of other training that seems to be in the press a lot, rather like these places trying to coax you to become a driving instructor, i wondered if they were all a scam. Thanks again for your advice.

I've seen a few RED driving instructor cars about in my area but don't know what work it will bring forward after the company takes their cut.

As for Web Design, I still thing there is room for plenty more but I wouldn't pay for a course. Start by looking at https://www.smashingmagazine.com for some great tutorials to get you excited but best idea is to start learning PHP or ASP.net slowly (lots of brilliant sites and getting the right book is a must.

The_Undercover_ADI

The only field I have any experience in is Driving Instructor Training.

The actual percentage of people who actually pass the registration exams demanded by the legislation is around 25% of those who pay out their initial £3000-£4000.

The actual earnings of a newly qualified instructor average around £10k.

The average earnings of an established instructor (after 5 years) is around £22k.

Many (many, many) of the 25% who actually pass their qualification exams will then drop out of the industry completely within 18 months. The figures are available on the internet but I can't find them at the moment.

Common reasons cited are "unsociable hours" (everyone wants to learn after college/work at weekends) and unsustainable overheads (for example, the Biggest School of Motoring charges instructors over £350/week to work for them, and going independent will cost at least £100/week before the engine turns over).

I suspect the truth of many of these claims is similar.

Do the research first. Look on specialist forums if you can't find the information here.

Good luck.