FAQ

I have no knowledge of programming -  What steps would you recommend I follow?  Also, what are the costs involved?

If in doubt and we cannot go by a Matric Certificate with at least a pass in mathematics -  we always recommend you should do an aptitude test like the one on http://www.3smartcubes.com  http://www.3smartcubes.com . (There are many more ...) and send us the results.

Complete beginners should :
  • start at the Complete Introduction to Programming  (this can also be done over 5 days full-time)
  • do our part-time training courses which runs over 5 Saturdays (6 hour sessions) or 2 nights per week 5 weeks (3 hour evening classes) because there are more time to take the knowledge in and process it with exercises etc.
  • we also have regular, free open evenings where students can come in to compare projects and get additional assistance from lecturers
  • budget to do at least 4 courses to get to the international certificate level (R8000 * 4) (5/6 is even better and recommended). The duration is 5-6 weeks per course then.
  • there are 2 tracks to follow - have a look.

How comprehensive and internationally recognised are your courses?

Our main goal is for you to pass your international certification - we emphasise 2 things on our training courses:

1) Practical skills and abilities

First of all a programmer needs to know his tools. If you know the building blocks and tools, you can proceed to build the house only.
We teach you the theory and how to apply it during our courses.
We also teach you how to approach and solve a business problem using these tools and skills
After the second course you must hand in a practical project to demonstrate your abilities in knowing the tools and ability to design and build the house
We issue 2 certificates - an attendance certificate as well as a practical certificate
We have a weekly open support evening (free for up to 3 months after the course) for all our students just to get that practical project up to scratch - It is more crucial nowdays to have the practical know-how than only academic qualifications to get your foot in the door.

2) International recognition

With a reputation that comes 20 years, a hands-on approach by our founder an expert developer himself, our courses are well recognised in the South African IT Industry. References are available on request.

Our 3rd course focus on the international exam and 99% of our students that get here, pass this exam quite easily.
The 1% that did not pass was either not motivated or became physically unable to write this exam.


Are you a Microsoft / SUN partner?

NB: - an international exam is completely independent from where you do a course - please remember that you can book an international exam on e.g: http://www.prometric.com. -you do not have to do a course with a Microsoft / SUN partner to pass an international exam - this is a terrible misconception some people have.

No, we do not believe being a Microsoft / SUN partner is a guarantee that one provides quality training. 
Let me emphasise that our courses are aligned with the International Certification Syllabus because that helps you to pass the International exams

Our courses will save you from 50 to 60%. It does not have to cost you an arm and a leg to get the necessary training to pass the international exams - and what is more - the practical skills will get you the job at the end of the day.

We can send you examples of quotations from official partners at three times the price of the route that we follow. We can also get you references from people who were at our courses as well as at the Official courses and the disappointment they have experienced in the quality of the training they received from an official partner.


 

I would like to find out more about your courses and possibly get some advice as to what I should study. I have a B.Comm degree and a few years work experience as a financial markets trader. I have recently started looking into programming and would like to learn enough to be able to incorporate this with my work experience. The way I understand it is that a lot of investment banks are looking for front office trading developer jobs which would really interest me.

 

I don’t have any programming experience, just going through some books at the moment but that’s obviously not going to help me get a job in that industry. If I did some courses though you, would they be recognised?


HI - most certainly our courses are very well-know in the IT Industry. What makes our offering unique is that we issue 2 certificates per course - 1 for attendance and one for the practical project - it is the latter that is invaluable in job seeking. We also offer free prac support assistance to all our students to enable them to get that practical project up to scratch.

Our courses are also aligned to cover the international certification syllabus, so as to make it easier for you when you prepare for an international exam.

Would you be able to advise me on which course I should do?

It is most important to have something practical on your CV that is why we recommend people from outside the industry to do the :


(complementary courses here are SQL and HTML)

The  PHP track is more practically oriented - therefore you are able to develop working websites when you are done - this makes it is easier to get experience on your CV and it is also a good introduction as to what a Software Developer really does every day of his life.

Based on job ads for banks it looks as though .Net or Java would be the most beneficial but as I said, I don’t have any experience in this so I could use some help please?


After PHP one can consider further training into something like Java or .NET.

 

In most of the jobs I see advertised they say they want a person who has a Bsc Computer Science degree. Would I be able to compete for a position like this or would it be better to do the degree?


Not really - it is better to get experience first and then study further. The reason why they prefer Computer Science is that the students also do a working practical verifyable programming project in their final year of study.

 

I would like to use the programming in the trading environment but it’s not essential so I’m happy to keep my options open.


 Future forecasts and trends predict a growth in Web Development (where PHP is the leader in terms of number of websites worldwide and lowest entry cost).
 

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