Funny lady Linda Smith used to say, “I love Waitrose – it’s that little bit more expensive.�
It seems that until the recent economic collapse, we consumers bought into the view that �Price is an indicator of quality�, or “Let’s be honest, cheap equals crap�. The marketing boys had it all sewn up – picture the mouth-watering M&S ads, with “This is not ordinary food, this is….� Conversely, the supermarkets Value or Basic ranges were bought by spendthrifts but barely noticed by you and me.
In IT training, expensive companies (aren’t they the best - if you can afford it - why else would these companies be market leaders?) acknowledged that there are companies around who’ll do it for less but be careful, you get what you pay for…. .
Then the world takes a couple of turns, the economic future is uncertain, and all at once value is all the rage! Many householders abandon Waitrose, and instead discover the delights of Aldi and Lidl. City bankers and their fat profits are the curse of the devil, and we all look more closely at our spending habits.
Have we been fooled by “reassuringly expensive� price tags? Further investigation into the UK training market, and maybe the big boys with their fancy prices are not all they seem. Just because industry’s crying out for more skilled programmers and networking professionals, should we really be paying 5k–8k to be trained in these skills, or are we missing something better? It’s a bit ironic that many IT trainers aren’t using fully interactive methods - supplying a workforce for the digital age using pen and paper methods. Why do students have to pour over books when any IT material can be downloaded and watched on computers? Is it necessary to drive to training centres, spending more money for our overnights to do what we could do at home? Anytime Interactive training should be available for me anywhere – at my convenience, but not at my cost.
With newer, easier training options on offer at less than half these prices, shouldn’t we acknowledge the fact that in terms of electronic learning, value is great quality and great price. We’re moving on in Computer training – in the words used by supermarkets, it’s “Taste the Difference� goods for “Basic� prices. In this changing world we live in, bring it on.
(C) Scott Edwards - www.learninglolly.com. Scott Edwards has been involved in the IT and Training Industry for 30 years.
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