It was the humourist Linda Smith who said, “I love Waitrose – it’s that little bit more expensive.�

It’s a funny old world, but until the recent credit crunch, we consumers were sold the view that �Price is an indicator of quality�, or �Low prices for cheap goods�. The marketing boys had it all sewn up – picture the luscious Marks & Spencer adverts, with “This is not ordinary food, this is….� On the other hand, the supermarkets Value or Basic ranges were bought by ultra thrifty shoppers but barely noticed by you and me.

In IT training, high price colleges (surely they’re the best - if you have the money - why else would so many people use them?) convinced us that there are IT trainers around who’ll do it cheaper but be warned, it won’t be as good.

Then lo and behold, we hover on the brink of financial meltdown, and all at once value is all the rage! Discerning shoppers stop visiting Waitrose, and instead head towards Aldi and Lidl. Stockbrokers and their fat cat payouts are out of favour, and we all re-evaluate what we buy.

Why were we so impressed by paying higher prices? Look a little closer into the UK training market, and maybe the big boys with their fancy prices are not all they seem. Just because there’s a great need for an ever increasing number of skilled networking professionals and programmers, are we really getting a good deal coughing up 5k–8k to get qualified, or are we just paying to prop up dinosaurs? It’s a bit ironic that many IT trainers are preaching one thing whilst practicing another - supplying students with out of date methods. Should we really have to pour over books when all information can be downloaded in this communication age? Do we really have to drive to training centres, spending more money for our accommodation to get teaching we could have online? Anytime Interactive learning should be available for me just that – at my convenience, but not at my cost.

With more comprehensive, user friendly training options around now at a fraction of the cost of these prices, maybe it’s time we woke up to the fact that when it comes to electronic learning, value is higher quality for a more reasonable price. A new order is asserting itself in Computer training – in the words used by supermarkets, it’s “Taste the Difference� goods for “Basic� prices. In this uncertain world of today, I’d say that’s a step in the right direction.

(C) Scott Edwards - www.learninglolly.com. Scott Edwards has been involved in the IT and Training Industry for 30 years.

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