Training By Design Leads To Upgrading Skills
The Age
Thursday March 17, 1994
The positive face of the boom in computer training courses is: there are many training alternatives. The negative side is, we have to pay for it. We also need to work out which training courses represent good value, writes Bruce Dixon.
SELECTING courses used to be easy. The hard part was getting through them. Those were the times, not so long ago, when you could choose three or four-year formal courses at college or university or take on a trade apprenticeship.
Today, the options for training are many and varied, with educational and commercial establishments offering a range: from one-day courses to full-time formal degrees and diplomas. What has really changed the nature of training has been change itself. With the current rate of change - particularly in the computing field - it is difficult for lecturers to keep up. At the same time, there seems to be an ever-increasing number of people who want to update their knowledge of a particular application or development language.
The positive side of all this is that we now have many training alternatives. The negative side is that we have to pay for it; but in turn we are becoming more discriminating in our expectations of what training courses represent good value.
A business that has just invested several thousand dollars on new software understands that they must make an even greater financial commitment to training their staff to get the best from that software investment. At the other end, VCE graduates will want to be sure any money they invest in a training course will make them more employable. And it usually does.
In the graphic arts field, for example, there are many employers keen to take on creative people with additional skills in packages such as PageMaker, Quark Express or Freehand. In the networking area, certified netWare engineers are currently in great demand.
So where can you go to find out more? The range of options for applications training is probably the most extensive. These include courses for WordPerfect and Word for Windows and suites of similar products, through to more specific programs such as Quicken, PowerPoint or accounting packages such as Sybiz and MYOB.
Companies such as Pollak Partners (8662399) offer a range of one and two-day courses from around $295 per day, while Drake Training (6505277) courses start at a daily rate of $265. In addition, both companies offer on-site and one-on-one training for companies or individuals wanting a more personalised approach. Class sizes are usually kept to around eight people, and Pollak offers post-training support for participants who experience problems or have questions after they have completed their courses. All courses include comprehensive course notes.
According to a recent survey conducted by Pollak, more than 80 per cent of those surveyed said they did their work tasks better as a result of the training they received, and 85 per cent were attempting new tasks as a result of training.
From the institutions, most TAFEs and some universities (such as Swinburne and RMIT) conduct courses on products from leading suppliers including Lotus, WordPerfect and Microsoft. Swinburne University of Technology (5226726) has a range of industry training short courses that are run in either two or four-hour blocks over two or four weeks, covering introductory and advanced Lotus. Course costs range from $100 for four-hour courses to $250 for courses run over two days.
The Technisearch division of RMIT (6605100) has put together a Certificate in Business Computing Applications that covers a range of applications over a minimum period of 200 hours for $3500; this includes textbooks and lecture notes. The course covers business applications such as Excel or Lotus for Windows, MYOB, and Paradox or Access for Windows, together with topics such as business planning, trends in information technology and project management.
Technisearch also has other information technology certificate courses including computer skills for engineers and scientists and relational databases for computer programmers.
In the mid-range, MLC Community Education in Barkers Road, Kew, (2746412) has developed a reputation for its computing courses, making the most of the excellent computing facilities within the school. Courses here range from $140 - for a full day or four two-hour sessions over consecutive weeks and cover the complete range of Microsoft applications, WordPerfect and Lotus courses, Quicken, keyboarding, and essay writing. Courses are run during the day, evenings and weekends.
At the niche end of the market companies such as the Quill Consultancy (002238277) have developed courses tailored around specific packages for corporate and government bodies. Though based in Tasmania, Quill, for example, runs a range of top-level courses in Melbourne and has been in demand by companies looking for trainers who can develop total company training programs, and who offer training on a range of applications including topics such as project management and relational databases.
In the trade area, the Moorabbin College of TAFE (5569690) has a range of certificate and advanced certificate courses in the electrical and electronics area, with the added bonus of a much lower fee level worked out on a sliding scale. Many companies are looking for young technicians to repair computers in their workshops, and the basic and advanced certificates provide a good grounding for these positions.
The burning question is: what is the real value of what you will learn? And this is where some highly specific courses can prove a bonanza.
In the networking area, qualifying as a certified netWare engineer can be costly, but in the long run, very rewarding. Courses are available through a number of companies including Com Tech in South Melbourne (6960770). These range from one-day courses for CCMail through to an installation workshop course and a netWare administration course, over two days and four days respectively.
The complete Certified Netware Engineer (CNE) course covers a range of short courses including networking technologies and advanced netWare administration and can be completed in compressed, sandwich or evening programs.
Course costs depend on experience and, as a guide, entry level to the compressed course (for people with a reasonable level of network knowledge) will cost $3900, while the 14-day sandwich course is $4500.
All course testing is carried out independently by Drake International Testing Services, as is the case with a number of other computing certifications including Microsoft's certified professionals program.
If nothing else, the Federal Government's training Levy has expanded training options greatly. In the computing area this means that for everyone from school leavers to executives, and secretaries to tradespeople, there are training programs that can help you become more productive in your computing work.
© 1994 The Age