What to pay attention to in IT courses, trainings and certificates

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No one would seriously question two sentences: “You will never stop learning” and “Employees are the company’s most important asset.” However, in order for employees to develop their maximum impact in terms of company goals, the first sentence must be considered: employees must be provided with ongoing opportunities to continue learning. This is especially true in industries like IT, where product and technology cycles are getting shorter and shorter, and people almost no longer say “snow from yesterday,” but rather “snow from an hour ago” to describe how outdated something is.
Courses and training courses are good for the company, but above all they are good for the employees themselves! So he is strongly advised not to let the company just send him to any external training course, but to check a few facts about the training provider beforehand. For example, regarding the question of whether and what kind of certificate: Because it always stays with the employee – until retirement! This blog post lists these and other important points on this topic.

Training: a win-win situation for both companies and employees
The win-win from the company’s perspective should be clear. But what exactly is the win-win for the employee? This is illustrated by the following example from life: An employee regularly passes exams with ease after completing difficult externships and continuing education courses in a particular specialty: We can talk about a proven, highly qualified professional. Unfortunately-and this must happen from time to time for a variety of reasons-the chemistry between an employee and his or her employer is wrong. The employment relationship ends and a certificate is issued, which unfortunately clearly reflects mutual apathy.
The employment relationship goes away – the certificates remain.
It’s a silly situation for an employee to be in. However, he can attach a whole stack of certificates to his next application! This will clearly clarify the issue of professional qualifications in favor of the job seeker during the preliminary selection of a suitable company, as well as at a possible job interview.

But this only works if-and this is a big stumbling block-the relevant certifications are really meaningful. Why shouldn’t they be meaningful? Because there are worlds of difference in the marketplace when it comes to training, exams, and ways to validate what you’ve learned afterward.

Every employee should be able to appreciate these differences, perhaps independently of their employer. Because it’s sometimes important for an employer to have criteria that are in their best interest, but not necessarily in the best interest of their employees.

Another example: To learn a new XY IT technology, a company sends an employee to a vendor company for a week. He can indeed pass on the necessary know-how, and even justifiably enough. Since the supplier wants to distinguish himself, this venture actually costs the company very little. But the employee is left literally empty-handed; or without any certification that will impress a potential employer in any way.

So what characterizes external training that turns a training project into the win-win situation described above?
These are important criteria for external training from the employee’s perspective.
Even the first question sounds almost trivial.
But it is justified because the answer is by no means self-evident.
Does it even get tested?
Where training courses are negotiated as mutual aid between companies that are related in some way, there is usually no examination and therefore no certification. But even with professional training providers, there is a very big difference.
How is this checked?
Is the questionnaire handed out on the last day, the speaker leaves the room, and participants can discuss the answers until everyone has entered the correct solution?
Rumors like this get out, maybe even to the next potential employer. Result: Even if a “certificate” is given after the exam is conducted in this way, it is more likely to raise a smile and is no longer an advantage for the course attendee, but rather a bad calling card. This is where you have to explicitly ask!
How does a training company get certified?
Particularly in the IT sector, there are training providers who are part of a company in the IT industry. Here, it’s worth checking to see if the company is certified by the manufacturer whose technology, the licensing product, is the subject of the training. If there is such certification, you can usually hope for qualified training; among other things, since the speakers in this case are often provided from among employees with appropriate qualifications.