Zenos Academy

westiea

Hi all

My 18yr old son has just been advised by Connexions to apply here.
He has a BT certificate and just finishing a First Diploma in IT, but finding it near impossible to get employment atm.
I wondered if anyone has any recent experience or knowledge of this place? Apparently they try and get a work placement for you after completing the course, however on various sites (studentroom etc) i have heard that this is not the case.
I am concerned that he may be wasting his time but dont know what else to do?
Any thoughts or info greatfully received

Oldernotwiser

What other options is he considering?

Connexions offer unbiased advice so,unless he has a better plan,I would go along with it.

westiea

hi
thanks for your reply - well he is also considering going back to college in sept to do another first diploma in It, ( he is on a database one atm and finding that a struggle so hence why he has not continued to do the 2 yrs to get nationals) - so non database and i think more software based (i am not an IT person - so please excuse my knowledge)
i just am concerned that may be he is choosing the wrong route and of course would like to know if anyone has experience of Zenos?

Anon_Person

I'm currently attending one of the Zenos Academies. There is a lot of negativity towards Zenos all over the internet, and I can't really work out why.

It's not a scam - you DO get a load of qualifications at the end of the course and they will try to get you a job at the end of it.

The qualifications are:
Advanced Diploma for IT Practitioners
NVQ Level 3 IT (Equivalent to 2 A-levels)
Key Skills Level 2 (Communication and Application of Number)
Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician
CompTIA A+ (601 and 602 exams)
CompTIA Network+ (You can choose whether or not you want to do this exam)

I.T. is a very difficult sector to break into, especially at the moment. These qualifications are the bare minimum most employers accept as there is a lot of competition - many of them graduates. Zenos help you create a CV and apparently near the end of the course you have weekly meetings with a Career Consultant that helps you find a job.

They pay all travel expenses for the first 6 weeks. After that it's £100 a week.

The main problem I'm having, and so are many others in my Academy is that the course is very slow. We can only work as fast as the slowest person in the Academy.

If your son wants to break into the I.T. world then Zenos is a good step forward. It's only 5 months, he gets paid and gets qualifications.

Oldernotwiser

westiea wrote: »

hi
thanks for your reply - well he is also considering going back to college in sept to do another first diploma in It, ( he is on a database one atm and finding that a struggle so hence why he has not continued to do the 2 yrs to get nationals) - so non database and i think more software based (i am not an IT person - so please excuse my knowledge)
i just am concerned that may be he is choosing the wrong route and of course would like to know if anyone has experience of Zenos?

There's really no point in doing another First Diploma. If he is struggling at this level (which is very basic) I would seriously question whether IT is an appropriate field to work in.

From what Anon has said of Zenos there seems little chance that he's going to manage the work and is simply going to hold everybody else back.