Socialise over Swordfish (Learning Tree)

Name: Plumptious

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	Learning Tree
Date:	30/04/01 (477 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Opportunity to meet other people in the industry.

Disadvantages: Not really geared up for beginners.

I am a software developer. In the course of work, I have attended and arranged training for various users and developers. The training has ranged from basic computer training to using Word through to MCSE/MCSD type qualifications.

Learning Tree is one of the biggest training centres around, so the odds of my eventually ending up there to sample their courses were very high. My department had sent its developers there for a couple of years. Then I joined the department, and we soon stopped using them. This is why.


Learning Tree is a huge setup with offices all over the world, including America and Japan. Its range of courses is truly impressive, and few can match the variety and quantity. More specific details of the courses are available on their website:
www.learningtree.co.uk


Its London branch is very handy to get to, barely 100 yards from Euston station, so you scarcely get a chance to get wet. They offer a Passport scheme which costs around £5000 for 10 courses. This is cheap considering that computing courses of a 3 to 5 day duration tend to cost around £750 - £1750 each.


Learning Tree classes are huge, tending to vary from 20-30 delegates per class. Compare this to most other training companies, who have a maximum size of 6 delegates, with often only 3 attending.

Be warned, classes with Learning Tree get cancelled more often than with other companies. This is because they do not find it cost effective to have less than a certain number of delegates attending, and would rather cancel the class altogether. Other companies tend to flog off course places at a very reduced rate if this happens, and I've never had a course cancelled anywhere else. I have been at courses with only 2 or 3 delegates, but not at Learning Tree.

That said, I would like to add that all the trainers I have come across are very good, and very capable of handling such class sizes. Learning Tree insis
t the trainers actually work in the field that they train in, as opposed to simply having academic knowledge of it.

Whilst I was at the training centre, I enquired about the suitability of an object orientation course for some of my team. As luck would have it, not only was a trainer doing the course during that week, it was the person who actually formulated the course in question. My trainer arranged for me to have an informal chat with the course author. It was hugely informative and enjoyable.

All in all, the trainers at Learning Tree are well rounded professionals. The main problem I come across with trainers generally is that they're simply contracted in by a training company to do a job. Although usually friendly and helpful, they have their own businesses to run and only tout for further consultancy jobs.

Learning Tree on the other hand, seems to have some kind of incentive scheme for the trainers to actually want the company to do well. Not only do they get paid for each course they train, they get an authoring fee for every course they create, with royalties every time it is run. I suspect that there are other incentives, but there's only so much you can question a complete stranger about his pay package!


It may sound contradictory, saying that the classes are too large, and then following it up with saying that the trainers are well able to cope. What I mean to say is that the trainers are courteous, informative and capable, but there is only so much individual attention they can humanly offer in such a large class.

And therein lies the problem with the Learning Tree philosophy. If you compare a Learning Tree course with a similar Microsoft accredited course, you will find that the Learning Tree course will have 40%-60% more topics to be covered.

All this makes for impressive reading, but the reality is that a Microsoft accredited course will take you through many facets of the su
bject covered, whereas a Learning Tree course skims through them, relatively speaking. The courses don't seem to be really intended for the delegate to get their hands too dirty.
This is borne out by the fact that they have two delegates sharing a computer, even in the "Hands On" courses. It's promoted as a positive thing, encouraging people to work together, etc, but to a cynical old hand like me, it just reeks of cost cutting. This is definitely NOT a good thing. I firmly believe that learning to use a new package is a partially manual process. If you simply watch someone else do it, the chances are that you will miss some of the mouse clicks, and have to learn them the hard way when you eventually come to use the package for real.


One thing that is quite nice is that there is a drinks evening every Wednesday. There are free drinks and snacks, and all delegates attending that day are invited. It is an ideal opportunity to collar the trainer you wanted to meet, or simply to meet other people in the industry.



~~~ Conclusion ~~~
The large class sizes were ideal for brainstorming sessions. If you had a question you'd encountered at work, the chances were that there would be 2-3 other delegates who had lived through the problem, and could talk you through it. Bear in mind though, that they would not be able to go into much depth as time is somewhat limited with the official syllabus to cover.


The lunches are fairly interesting and varied. I think there was swordfish one day.


The sheer number of topics in a single course is impressive. If you already know your stuff, and need a piece of paper to prove to your boss, or boss's boss that you have been trained and tested on specific subjects, then these courses are just the ticket to maximise the number of topics covered in the least amount of time.
In fact, there were a few delegates in my class who already knew
the topic inside out, and were simply going through the motions to get their certification. I never encountered this type of delegate in the more expensive and time consuming Microsoft accredited courses.

The £5000 ten course passport is amazing value. If you book it at the right time of year, you can even get 10% off it.
If you are one of these people who already knows their stuff, then it may be just the ticket.
My only problem is that I can't quite envisage any other type of delegate using it, as all ten courses have to be taken within a year of the first course.
Imagine that you are starting from scratch. You have a year in which to take 10 courses. That's one every 5 weeks. Three weeks preparing, and then one week attending the course. After the course, you would ideally spend a week going through what was covered.

If you really had no prior knowledge of the subject, it would be very heavy going. I don't see how you would get any work done at the office. And that's before annual hols are taken into account...



So there you have it. Maybe I'm just a difficult customer. Most of my suppliers would probably agree.

Summary: