Computeach

[Clstrphbc_donut]

What a waste of time.

I work at Currys, not the most ideal job really, so sent off for an information pack from Computeach. It arrives, and says "Ring 0800 bla bla" and asked for John Craig.



So I ring the first time.

Me : Hi, I recived a letter from you through the post as I requested online, the letter directs me to speak to John Craig, can I speak with him please?"

Her : I'm sorry but not at the moment, but may I be of assistance to you?

Me : I'm just wondering about what courses you offer and the cost.

Her : I'm sorry, but I can only send information out, like the one you have recieved, I don't advise.

Me : Right, so how do I get in contact with John?

Her : Ring up til you get hold of him

Me : What? I keep ringing this number, and if it's not John, I try again?

Her : Unfortunately yes.

Me : Sounds like a waste of a day. Thanks, goodbye.



I don't know why, but I rang again. Pretty much the same again.

Anymore things like this, with more than one telephone number and one person with an IQ higher than their height in feet?

[Whiternoise]

BT appear to have the same sort of system..

[Agent]

Computeach are pointless.
Most of their courses are based around flashy TV adverts, giving false hopes to people who havnt used a computer before.

Check out your local college / university - thats what they are there for

[johnny02004976]

Computeach are pointless.
Most of their courses are based around flashy TV adverts, giving false hopes to people who havnt used a computer before.

Check out your local college / university - thats what they are there for

agreed, you'd be much better off checking out your local college or night school

[ArcticFox]

I tried when they were giving out free courses, they were complete pap so i never bothered.

[ikonia]

Agent how dare you slander computeach, their adverts clearly show a bin man being retrained in 12 weeks as a computer games programmer earning a minimum or 30k per year with a company car......are you saying this is not what really happens.

FYI: that was sarcasm, stay well clear from these sorts of monkeys

[this_is_gav]

Have to wonder how they make their money though, if no-one appears to be able to contact Mr. Craig.

[Agent]

Agent how dare you slander computeach, their adverts clearly show a bin man being retrained in 12 weeks as a computer games programmer earning a minimum or 30k per year with a company car......are you saying this is not what really happens.

FYI: that was sarcasm, stay well clear from these sorts of monkeys

Thats the exact advert I was thinking of

and drop the FYI, its funnier

[Moby-Dick]

but I'm sure I can train to be a binman in 12 weeks, so why not the other way round ?

[Clstrphbc_donut]

College will cost me a bomb, money I don't have working part-time at Currys

Any other companies like Computeach, but better? With better qualifications? I'd rather learn from home in my own time if thats possible.

[Agent]

Trust me, goto your local college and check it out. If you're low income they have various things they can do to bring the price down.
Infact, our local college does free courses. But honestly, go and talk to them.

[Clstrphbc_donut]

Trust me, goto your local college and check it out. If you're low income they have various things they can do to bring the price down.
Infact, our local college does free courses. But honestly, go and talk to them.

I see approx £600 p/m low income, but it depends what their view of low income actually is.

Will go along, but last time, they wanted to throw me into a course learning "Word Processing, Spreadsheets, What each part of a computer does" etc before they'd let me onto the course I wanted to take... "Hardware, software & Networking"

Young and stupid, I told them to stick it. Wasn't the smartest of things to do

[johnny02004976]

which college did you try before mate? (used to be from Blackpool) i had a couple of mates who did some night courses at the Blackpool and Fylde college and really enjoyed it

[Clstrphbc_donut]

Blackpool and Fylde college

Answered your own question lol.

I sat there and she said "Going from your GCSE results we can only put you in foundation I.T"

I asked what it was, and it's skills that you learn in school. Right, so we go to school, learn stuff, leave, then go to college and have to repeat our high school education?

Been told by a friend though, if I speak to a certain guy he will quiz me and if he think's there's a 70% chance I'll pass, he'll put me on the course.

Considering I know Win 3.1 --> XP and have had a little go of Vista, build my own and other's computers plus maintain them, & also do that with networks, I'll be on this course soon.

I will go mental if they say "We can't let you on the intermediate"

"Why the hell not, I'm paying after all!!"

You wouldn't go into a shop, ask for a core2duo, and the guy says "I think its too powerful for you, so take this P3 instead."

[this_is_gav]

It's been around 8 years here since I was in your position, but you're going for a GNVQ, right?

Personally speaking, I found it much better going for an NVQ. You get actual work experience, and along with it the chance of getting a job once the course is over. That's how I got my job, and 7 years later, I'm still more than happy in it. If you don't get kept on, you get at the very least a reference and unless you suck at life, the same base qualification as that GNVQ.

Employers look much more favourably on those with actual work experience than a piece of paper which says you could do something. If you take this approach you get both.

I presume the system is the same now as it was when I actually quit half a year into my GNVQ to do the NVQ.

Unless you have support from others around you (I've always been the only tech here (a middle school - 3 tier schooling's still in north Northumberland)), then you're pretty much left to your own devices to train yourself, which suits me fine - I've always believed in doing things the hard way and learning from it. It's so much more rewarding than a GNVQ, and as you apparently have already got plenty of IT experience, you'll do fine. If you do get stuck, Google is your friend.

Of course, having essentially a full time job, with educational pay, you've much less money to spend on beer, and less time to bribe your friends to buy it for you, but in my experience, that's the only draw-back.

[Clstrphbc_donut]

Well I currently work 4 days a week - part time.

So I could do a night college course, but the point I'm getting at is if I'm paying, who's to tell me what I can and can't try my hand at?

Its probably about knowing the right people to get into I.T but I don't, or have any experience, or am gonna be able to get someone to give me a chance, so every slip of paper counts, and I don't want to waste X amount of time and X amount of money, because I think I've done enough of that already.