NITLC Offer to Barclays Bank for Advent Students

[NITLC]

The National IT Learning Centre has extended their support to help Advent Students by contacting Barclays Bank to discuss providing alternative training in the longer term.

 

The National IT Learning Centre recently offered Students free support and exam preparation for those studying the CompTIA A+ and had been left in the lurch by the closure of Advent IT.

 

Charles Oskwarek, NITLC’s Managing Director, stated, “Our offer to Advent students has been extremely well received, and we have filled classroom training sessions for them at no charge. Having spoken with many of Advent students it is clear that we could help them further as our course delivery is based on a similar model to that of Advent’s. We would be happy to look at each case because in our opinion we have found that a significant amount of Advent students had elements of courses that may not really relevant to their overall objectives.

 

We have been training for almost 20 years and we were the first IT Training Provider to offer Microsoft IT qualifications via distance learning. We have offices in the Midlands and London, and already support distance learning courses on a national scale; however, we would consider opening additional offices to meet the needs and demands of Advent students if feasible”.

 

Barclays Bank has been widely quoted in the press as looking to source training or better training for Advent Students. As reported by the BBC News website, Andrew Bond, a spokesman for Barclays said, “We recognise how important this training is for people and have formed a dedicated team to help any students find equivalent or better training at no extra cost to them so they can fulfil their aims".

 

NITLC feel that they are in a strong position to be part of that and look forward to hearing from Barclays.

 

For further information contact David Greenwood, Student Services Manager, on 01636 612226 or at david@nitlc.com

 

See; http://www.prlog.org/10523644-nitlc-offer-to-barclays-bank-for-advent-students.html

Edited February 8, 2010 by cerberusalert

[MARTIN3030]

So there is no clarification that Barclays have given their blessings to this ?

[Bluedo]

“Our offer to Advent students has been extremely well received,"

 

 

I've not been offered anything by NITL

 

How were the Advent students contacted?

 

 

"Our offer to Advent Students has been extremely well recieved "

Not by me

[NITLC]

Hi MARTIN3030,

 

 

As we mention in the heading of our posting, the present situation is that we have contacted Barclays and offered to discuss providing training for Advent students because how we deliver our courses is very similar. We have already helped many Advent students who did not know what to do next with their studies.

 

 

As we have already provided free advice and places on workshops free of charge and received extremely positive feedback from Advent Students then we felt this was a natural next step.

 

 

We are waiting to hear from Barclays.

 

 

 

Bluedo,

 

 

We made the offer of free A+ workshops to Advent students through various forums (including this one), social networking sites, and national and local press. Further details of the offer can be found on website www.nitlc.com/advent

 

 

Regards,

 

 

NITLC

Edited February 8, 2010 by NITLC

[Bluedo]

NITLC

Thank you for your post and I'm sure some students will benefit depending on their circumstances and what stage they are at.

 

Personally I have been tied into an agreement that included exam fees etc, and albeit the promise of job placement being in my mind being misled at the time of agreement being made.

 

So as I see it if I'm to be forced to pay thousands of pounds to BPF if another Training Provider is found, then being asked to pay again for exams etc for something that is already paid for then why should I be forced to do that.

As I am in Scotland and had friends in kidderminster then that was another reason I agreed to Advent.

 

Advent has breached the contract and if I decided I would like to be involved with your study programme I would like to be able to decide that for myself

Edited February 8, 2010 by Bluedo

[MARTIN3030]

Yes thats a fair comment Bluedo.

[Bluedo]

Yes thats a fair comment Bluedo.

 

Thank you Martin Just feel it's such an unfair situation to be in

[MARTIN3030]

Yes I would expect Barclays will only be happy if theres something in it for them...although as we know-theyve already had the benefit of lots of students money.

[cashins]

Yes I would expect Barclays will only be happy if theres something in it for them...although as we know-theyve already had the benefit of lots of students money.

 

I think we can safely assume that BPF will act in their own best interests.

 

David

[MARTIN3030]

Absolutely thats a foregone conclusion.

[Mustard2243]

NITLC,

 

Well done with the free workshops but...........

 

Intentionally or not you have given Barclays another argument to keep allot of us paying high interest on an already inflated course price. Granted many of us including myself were all to easily drawn in by the promise of milk and honey and from what i have seen on various forums most people would much rather Barclays had no options but to refund us. Which in turn would leave us to make our own choices on a training provider or to self study, rather then let Barclays choose for us.

 

I cant help but feel you guys are chasing ambulances!!

Edited February 10, 2010 by Mustard2243

[raj4u]

Thats really a fare comment mustard2243!! they should give us a choice to go for..

 

NITLC, you are saying that many students are happy with your idea for training and also mentioned that you are on different websites. but so far i have'nt seen any kind of stuff anyware..are you ready to provide the same standard as promised by advent? Are you going to provide training for SQL Server administration?..

[NITLC]

The positive feedback we’ve received from Advent students relates primarily to the free workshop and advice offer. We have made the post above because, in the interests of transparency, we feel people should be kept informed that we have requested an opportunity with Barclay’s to discuss how we may be able to help in the longer term.

[MARTIN3030]

It seems Barclays are taking rather a long time to find a solution.

Its reasonable to assume that insofar as they are concerned,finding an alternative supplier who they are happy to designate/agree with looks to be more difficult to what they have made out,in their response to students enquiries.

Given the urgency I am at a loss to understand why this is taking so long,as perhaps are so many others.

[cashins]

Given the urgency I am at a loss to understand why this is taking so long,as perhaps are so many others.

 

Especially as they seem to have precipitated the problem themselves.

 

I am convinced that in fact they were aware what could happen by the speed in which they started sending letters out, compared with say, Hitachi.

 

Frankly, their main focus appears to be on keeping people paying as opposed to fixing the problem.

 

David

[MARTIN3030]

Especially as they seem to have precipitated the problem themselves.

 

 

Moreso this reason than anything else.

Seeing how Barclays have shown themselves to respond to their customers complaints in all areas of their group (many many which are detailed on this site)

This comes as no great suprise.

There are still things yet to surface from all of this.

Lets hope that the administrators will uncover anything that will dispel rumours-but I am not holding my breath.

[cashins]

Especially as they seem to have precipitated the problem themselves.

 

Could well be that the instruction to get out of certain markets came from Barclays itself.

 

I suspect that Clydsdale Financial Services Ltd aka BPF have not been producing the return their masters require. So much so, that in fact they are binning the Glasgow operation and transferring the business to their own lending operation in Cardiff. (March onwards as I understand it).

 

It is unlikely that Barclays own operation would have become directly involved, (other than as personal loan), in the student training sector anyway.

 

David

[MARTIN3030]

Yes I remain convinced there is more than meets the eye.

Maybe they was not reckoning of the students regrouping en masse and seeking enforcement of their rights.

[cashins]

Well, I think that many organistions are still being caught short by internet communication and the sheer speed of events.

 

In this case however they missed an obvious clue - errrrrrrr.........they were funding courses for IT students.

 

David

[MARTIN3030]

No I dont believe that Barclays missed it-more likely that they though that as usual they could find ways around it.

They make Houdini look like a novice.

Again I hope that those tasked with investigating will not be intimidated by their might.

They are not above the law-as much as they often appear to think they are.

I remember their challenge to data protection when they tried to claim their Barclaycard microfiche statement archive fell outside the meaning of a filing system...they got their noses wiped on that one.

Lets hope they do with this one.

Edited February 11, 2010 by MARTIN3030

[MARTIN3030]

I think NITLC are well meaning,and that they have not been in the business of student training for 20 years without good reason.

In fact it is not disputed that they may be offering more superior services than Advent.

I can see from the many posts spread over 3 threads here that in principle there are no issues with the offers or proposals from NITLC.

They are not associated with cosmetic surgery or spin offs as was the case with Advent.

They have also put their cards on the table and told as is with no false promises.

In consideration of those outside their areas of current operation they have also offered consideration of extending their customer base.

They should be given credit for this.

Its a shame that the finance companies were not showing the same considerations-this is what is at issue NITLC if you are reading.

Transparicy goes a long way when there is trouble i'th mill.

Its something Barclays dont have in their vocab.

[generalgaz]

I quite agree. I've just got back from Newark, where the guys and girls at NITLC made five of us (ex Advent students) very welcome indeed. The whole set up was very well organised and professional. We had three productive days there, working from 9.15 until 5.30pm, and until 8.00pm on tuesday. The course trainer was second to none, he had the course material well prepared and delivered it clearly and professionally. He covered eveything we needed to know in A+essentials and the PC Technician modules. This was supported by numerous quick tests, and access to trancenders.

The staff also listened to our gripes about Advent and the Finance companies, which we may have gone on about too much. As I say NITLC looked after us very well, supplying lunch, tea and coffee at no cost to any of us.

Now these guys didn't have to put themselves out for us to do this, and some of yo might be saying 'well there after some business'. But I tell you what, if i had known of NITLC at the time of Advent, and how good they are at IT training, I wouldn't be sitting here now with defecit of £4500. I'd certainly be a lot further on in my training as a MCSE student.

I now have now have sound knowledge and confidence to sit the A+ Essentials and PC Technician Exams in a couple of weeks time.

 

Once Again, Thank You all at NITLC

[MARTIN3030]

They have put their money where there mouth is.

Of course they are doing this out of business expansion and are seeking to grasp opportunities-in any other situation any business worth its salt would be offering the same,this is after all their core business and one they are able to provide for with much experience.

Thanks for posting your experience-look forward to reading more of the same.

[David Michael]

This may be worth looking at Advent IT Training [problem]: The Facts

 

David Michael

[David Michael]

Sign up for this one, its worth a try

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/adventcomputer/

 

Regards David Michael