In-Centre IT workshops are generally sold by many training providers as a positive. But they’re a leftover relic in reality from the time when IT training courses came mainly from books and training manuals, and needed college back-up to be sure students understood everything. Modern training courses now incorporate state-of-the-art interactive instruction and testing, which leaves the books and in-centre brigade far behind.

In-centre workshops have many more hidden negatives apart from being part of an antiquated teaching system. Colleges can be a long way away from students homes, requiring a great deal of travelling. This often means spending hundreds of pounds on petrol and overnight stays, on top of the often inflated course fees. Typically an MCSE might have 10 in-centre workshops, with a minimum of one overnight stop each time. Let’s assume the cheapest you’ll do it for is 35 pounds for accommodation, 15 pounds for food and 40 pounds for petrol. That’s 90 pounds per session, or close to a whopping one thousand pounds for 10 sessions – often more!

Trying to organise suitable dates can often turn into a logistical headache – finding available workshops that fit in with your study needs and happen to work with your current job and family commitments can be nigh on impossible at times. Because workshops fill up quickly, colleges either end up excluding people, or taking greater numbers than is recommended.

Differing ability levels invariably make up the group workshops, creating awkwardness between those who want to go faster or slower. Many of us feel tense asking questions in front of other students, particularly when they’re not regular class-mates who we know well. We don’t want to appear stupid so questions get left un-asked! Compare that embarrassment with interactive video workshops and one-on-one live 24×7 support.

Workshops generally mean using holiday allowance from your job rather than un-paid leave. As 20 days a year is normal, if half of that or more is taken up with in-centre days, there’s not much left for family time and holidays. And that’s assuming your employer can facilitate those times, and give you the days off.

Most training colleges hold Monday to Friday workshops, and usually group two or three days together. This can be a great deal of time away from home and the job – especially if journeys have to be made the night before.

Keeping their training private is also important for many students. The majority don’t want to sacrifice possible pay-rises in their current job whilst they’re training, but if there are five workshops to attend in a year how long can it be kept secret? If they know someone is training to get into another industry, employers might feel a little different.

It’s also the case that many students jobs frequently take them away from home. This makes workshop time almost impossible – fitting time in for friends and family is challenging enough!

Watching and learning at your own convenience, from pre-filmed, one-to-one instructor lessons is so much more simple. When a question crops up, use your 24×7 live online support (which you should expect on technical career courses). You can watch again and re-learn modules as many times as you need to, until you’ve really grasped the lesson. There’s no hassle, and no need for note taking, so you’ll preserve time and money. By choosing interactive learning from the comfort of your PC you’re also more likely to preserve your sanity.

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