Acai Guide

It’s not unusual for training course providers to boast proudly that all exam fees and guarantees are inclusive in the cost of their courses. Now why don’t we think about that a little more closely?

There may well be several exams to take to complete some courses, with most IT exam entry fees coming in around the 110 pounds mark. It’s no secret that when exam fees are inclusive, the price of every exam has already been factored into the cost of the course anyway – it’s not as if they’re giving them as freebies! It’s simply that the marketing department think an inclusive cost comes across as a better deal to their customers, so they use it as a sales ploy to suggest better value and security. But when we look at what’s really going here, we might argue the case.

You won’t be taking exams for probably 12 – 24 months, so the most obvious question is why spend your money on them now? Wouldn’t the money for exam fees be better left in your account for longer, accruing interest, if you’re paying by cash for your training? If you’re borrowing money to pay for training, you’ll have a larger loan than is necessary to pay interest on, purely because your exam fees have been included up front. Surely it’s better to hold on to your money till you need to spend it? Paying interest on it definitely makes no sense.

Paying for exam fees up-front helps put more money into a training provider’s pot, therefore helping them with their cash-flow. In many cases, it does even more than that. Inclusive charges mean that every student is paying for their exam fees, whether they end up taking them or not.

For a number of reasons, not every student takes all their exams. Some give up part way through (especially if the standard of training and support isn’t good) and some find IT jobs before finishing their course so don’t feel the urgency to take every exam. When this occurs, the training college simply keeps the un-used fees. So actually it’s the colleges that benefit from payments up-front, not the student.

But what about exam guarantees – are they worth anything? Guarantees make us feel better (back to the marketing boys and girls). Colleges assure students that they can take their exams as many times as is necessary to pass without incurring further charges and many are convinced by this.

In reality, we all know that the only way to confidently pass an exam is with good study habits and a high standard of training. There is no back door that lets you through after a number of attempts. So the quality of the training, which should include 24 hour support and authorised exam preparation software, is much more relevant to success than exam guarantees. Reading the small print on so-called exam guarantees will tell you that the college decides when you’re ready to re-take the exam, so they won’t let you near one till they know you’re ready.

You can control passing your exams. When you’ve worked through the right level of training, and tested yourself under exam conditions, you’ll build enough confidence to know when you’re ready for the real thing.

It’s very easy to book it yourself, and there are places all over the country and around the world where you can sit your exams. (Students who’ve paid at the beginning of a course usually have to travel to the training provider to take exams). You can often take advantage of any offers that might be on at that time.

In actual fact, as your career develops, it’s possible you won’t need to take all of the exams – as sometimes it’s the knowledge that’s important, not the qualification.

(C) 2009. Check out LearningLolly.com for smart ideas on Managing for Commitment and IT Outline Database.