Online Training Companies

[zulander]

We have all read the scare tales of various online training companies trying to get you to sign up for various Microsoft qualifications and saying they will supply course manuals, support exams etc before quickly do a runner with your hard earnd cash. I have just received an email from these people http://www.itonlinelearning.com/ and it got me thinking are any of these online training companies legit or are they all just scams???

[jdargie]

Hi, I am a director at ITonlinelearning. We are very transparent about our training and encourage all prospective students to trial our training first. You can have full access to any of the courses you are interested in for a 2 day period to allow you to experience our training properly before buying. (I do understand your concerns as there some questionable companies out there.)

Our strength is that we offer a cost effective training solution for IT Profesionals wanting to certify to validate /upgrade their skills. We do not cater for people wanting to get into IT who need work experience and help finding jobs etc.

Typically we launch 1-3 new individual exam courses each month which students can add to their learning page (dependant on study bundle). Students are able to tailor study plans over a 2 year period, but also have the flexibility to change courses as well.

Feel free to call me if you would like to discuss further.

[Perfectionist]

You're probably better looking at www.open.ac.uk if you want a genuine qualification than any of these online businesses. I don't think anyone really takes it seriously when someone has one of these companies on their CV, you might as well claim you got it from "certificates 4 u".

[finlay666]

You're probably better looking at www.open.ac.uk if you want a genuine qualification than any of these online businesses. I don't think anyone really takes it seriously when someone has one of these companies on their CV, you might as well claim you got it from "certificates 4 u".

Open university or genuine accredited schemes such as Microsoft certified partners/CISCO training are the only real ways to get degrees most places will value

[Agent]

Open university or genuine accredited schemes such as Microsoft certified partners/CISCO training are the only real ways to get degrees most places will value

As someone in the education sector for a living, I just want to stress how important this is.

Almost anything of value can be had from a real University or College. Use them - that's why they exist!

[jdargie]

Without getting into a heavy debate, I wonder if either of the people above who have kindly commented actually work in IT or have recently tried to secure a job in IT?! One simply needs to look at job boards to see the high percentage of jobs that require specific certifications.

Companies rather opt to take on candidates with Certifications becauses they are a lower recruitment risk because they have passed an internationally recognised exam and they have gained skills in a very specific area of IT (relevant to the job they are applying for).

Make no mistake, having a degree is great, but degrees give you a very general knowledge of IT without strong specialisation.

All exams writen are internationally recognised exams, as irrespective of training provider used, you undertake an official Microsoft/ Cisco/ ComTIA etc exam and write your exams at a Microsoft/Cisco/CompTIA approved exam centre. Most IT Exams are either done through a company called Prometric (does Microsoft, Cisco exams etc) or a company called Pearson Vue (does Cisco, Oracle etc).

Lastly I would suggest doing research on job boards looking at the types of jobs you plan to apply to and see what Certifications they require.

[Barrichello]

I wonder if either of the people above who have kindly commented actually work in IT or have recently tried to secure a job in IT?! One simply needs to look at job boards to see the high percentage of jobs that require specific certifications.

Hi Jdargie, i have over 12 years working in IT in various industries and can confirm that I have moved around pretty easily without any formal certification. Yes i am sure it helps in certain area's but important to point out that demonstrative experience gained in the "real world" in many cases can be preferable to a piece of paper.

I would also be careful of the "online" only type course.

I know its a oldish thread but if anyone is interested in a more "traditional" style of IT tutoring/certification then from my recent experience (Sun Solaris and ITIL) i have found QA-IQ to be of a high standard and very reliable.

[jdargie]

Hi Barrichello, I agree with you.

Practicing/ gaining practical experience as you study is essential. Online study like the courses we offer suits a certain type of student.

Our students are all typically working in IT/ have IT experience. ITonlinelearning's courses are ideal for IT Professionals who want to build a certification around their experience/ gain updated skills.

We are the ears of the market as we speak to huge numbers of prospective students. There are IT Professionals out there that are able to secure jobs/ contracts without certifications, however this is becoming more and more difficult and is near impossible for those at the lower end of the IT ladder.

[j_r_f]

Have been in IT for around 14 years or so and have certs with both Oracle and Microsoft.

I do have to say that at the start of my career they were useful as they distinguished between myself and other candidates with equally low levels of experience.

I did find that once I had about 5 years experience they became far less of a factor (having said that they are still included when my employer sends out my "consultant" flavoured cv)

With regards to training companies I think the benefit is down to the individual mindset. I prefer books, but some of my colleagues have used courses successfully (can't remember which ones though)

[finlay666]

Without getting into a heavy debate, I wonder if either of the people above who have kindly commented actually work in IT or have recently tried to secure a job in IT?! One simply needs to look at job boards to see the high percentage of jobs that require specific certifications.

Companies rather opt to take on candidates with Certifications becauses they are a lower recruitment risk because they have passed an internationally recognised exam and they have gained skills in a very specific area of IT (relevant to the job they are applying for).

Make no mistake, having a degree is great, but degrees give you a very general knowledge of IT without strong specialisation.

All exams writen are internationally recognised exams, as irrespective of training provider used, you undertake an official Microsoft/ Cisco/ ComTIA etc exam and write your exams at a Microsoft/Cisco/CompTIA approved exam centre. Most IT Exams are either done through a company called Prometric (does Microsoft, Cisco exams etc) or a company called Pearson Vue (does Cisco, Oracle etc).

Lastly I would suggest doing research on job boards looking at the types of jobs you plan to apply to and see what Certifications they require.

From last June I spent 14 months working for Microsoft (was a 9 month placement but I was offered an extension as they were very happy with the work I was doing) as a software development engineer in testing. I am currently on a retainer from them while I complete my degree at university.

I beg to differ how a degree can not give specialisation. Sure something like Computer Science is a fairly general degree, however many choose more specialised areas. A lot of companies also choose to train employees so they work in a similar manner, I have attended training on matters like this myself in areas such as coding guidelines and work strategies to problem solving.

University students who have access to www.dreamspark.com (You may need Athens credentials) can also undertake the Microsot certification scheme for free, I think this may be only 1 exam, however it halves the cost of getting a full MCTS (Microsoft certified technical specialist) qualification in something like .Net development.

[Mike Fishcake]

I would like two add my two pence in here.
I have been reading posts all over the net about (itonlinelearning.com)
They are providing a valuable service in my opinion for people like myself.

As 'finlay666' has been saying that Universities can offer students access to Microsoft certification schemes for free, that's where people like myself have problems.
How would I support my family while I give up my job, our only means of income, then to pay out thousands to sign up to University (over £3000 for a three year degree course).
I also looked at the Open University
The other problem I had with what 'finlay666' was saying 'A lot of companies also choose to train employees'. My companies would not pay for my IT course because it did not make up part of my job description.
I think there are a lot of people in the same boat as me.

I will take my hat off to companies like (itonlinelearning.com) and other reputable online course providers for there entrepreneurial talent to take on these bloated, bureaucratic Universities to offer people like me exactly what we need.

That post is so transparent I can almost see the back of my desk through my monitor.

[daniel_owen_uk]

LOL they should have at least posted something random in another thread first

[mrmike]

Sorry for resurrecting this thread but I feel that people should know what kind of company ITOnlineLearning are.

I was lured in to this training company by a recruitment agency who posted a job advert on TotalJobs.com, who, after giving me a telephone interview offered me a tech support job providing that I get Comptia A+ certification. I have reason to believe that this recruitment agency (ITOL), are not actually a recruitment agency, but perhaps employees of ITOnlineTraining? I'll let you guys decide.

They offered me a course to get certified, they (Stacy) told me that my exam fee's would be included in the bundle, however after paying, I received my invoice which stated that my exam fee's were not included. I rang them and politely questioned Stacy about this, she did not confirm that I would receive official Comptia A+ certification, and advised me that the certificates were their own 'in-house' printed certificates!

This is called mis-representation. I have made many more attempts to contact them and cancel my course and get a refund. Instead of replying to my query, they instead sent me a link to download the course materials. This is because their terms and conditions state that after downloading course material, you no longer have the right to cancel! Very sneaky indeed.

I am currently in proceedings with my bank, who are siding with me on this matter; they are going to reverse the transaction and get my money back. The only thing left for me to do is warn others.

I only paid them because I thought that they had access to discount exam vouchers that were cheaper than me booking through PearsonVue. I already had my own study materials for Comptia A+.