.Hello I have recently joined this forum so hello to everyone.
I have owned and run a small business for the past 3 years now and we are doing ok, we are first and foremost a computer and laptop repair shop but we specialise in hardware repairs of games consoles and smart phones and do soldering work on motherboard etc.
Around 1.5 years ago I set up a website that was offering training courses on how to fix iPhones and iPads and we still run the courses today which is held at our workshop. We have run quite a few courses now and have trained people local to the UK but also central Europe and have been quite a popular course. Of course we do not claim any kind of accreditation from apple and are a completely independent company.
Recently we expanded our shop and I plan to use more space to offer more training courses for the other repairs that we do. Now there is no kind of college course or university course that provides these kinds of courses so we are very unique in that way. The new courses we want to run are all hardware based like fixing games consoles and replacing DC jacks and usb ports on laptop boards again there is no official course that I know of that someone can go on.
So my question is really is there any way I can somehow make these new courses more credible, a few ideas I have had is to link up with local colleagues and maybe invite them round to see our setup and possible writing up health and safety information.
So any help or advice would be really helpful, and just to remind people I have no experience in setting up any kind of training school but I might add all the trainees we have had so far are all very happy with the quality of the courses so far.
Thanks for reading and look forward to any replies.
Graham K
2 Responses
Accrediation
Hi Graham,
Nice to see you on the site, I hope you find it useful, I know I do!
I suppose the thing that struck me is whether or not there was any value in accrediting the courses, possibly using Qualifications and Credit Framework?
I don't know how it works in England, but I would imagine it is much the same in Scotland, where each course is awarded credit points which then translate into the qualification. (For exmaple: 1-12 credits give you an "award" but 37 points give the learner a diploma.
The great thing about the framework is that it is nationally recognised, so people can put them on their CV and they will carry weight with employers etc.
You can read more about the framework here: http://ofqual.gov.uk/qualifications-and-assessments/qualification-frameworks/
Of course, this is just one option and I'm sure other TrainingZone members will put forward other ideas too.
Hope this has been useful,
Kind regards,
Fiona
look to your competition
Hi Graham
I'm NOT poo-pooing your idea or your success to date but do look toyour competition…..Whenever I've had a need in the area you mention I have simply gone to youtube and found a free video showing me how to do it…..QED is there a sustainable paying need?
Otherwise I'd stick with keeping it simple and cheap! ut then, it isn't me area of expertise
Rus