Accreditation and Employment: Which Way is the Roman Road?

According to news on April 7, IT vocational training has attracted more attention from IT professionals in the post-financial crisis era. Reporters visited some IT technical training institutions and learned that the market is generally divided into two types of training: vendor certification training like Cisco, Huawei, Microsoft, etc., and employment-focused training such as Beida Qingniao IT training. The former became popular several years ago and was once considered a must-have path for IT elites, while the latter has gradually become a new favorite in the market due to its practicality in recent years.

Employment-focused IT training – gradually becoming a new market favorite

A mix of quality – choice is key

The head of Guangzhou Beida Qingniao Xiangji Lide IT Training Center said, "In fact, employment is currently the biggest concern for all students choosing IT training. However, the dazzling array of IT vocational training advertisements leaves many potential students at a loss."

Compared to vendor certification training, employment-focused IT training is more suitable for corporate hiring needs. It’s no longer just about specialized technology or product-specific training but rather focuses on positions within the enterprise labor market. That is, the training content is designed based on specific job roles in the market. For example, network engineer training emphasizes network technology, mainly using Cisco and Huawei equipment with system data technology as a supplement; system engineer training focuses on Linux and Windows system operations with network technology as a supplement; Java engineer training centers around enterprise-level applications of Java language in the current market.

Experts say, "Employment is the main promotional focus of these training companies. However, we cannot judge the actual effectiveness of IT training solely based on their promotional language. Therefore, how to choose an IT training institution is key."

"First, the courses must align with corporate hiring needs. We can conduct basic research online and compare the professional course systems offered by the training center to see if they match actual corporate demands.

Second, whether the vocational training methods are suitable for real vocational education. Vocational education should be distinct from classroom education. Some schools promote the concept of full hands-on training, where students receive vocational education at the center as if they were working in a company. They may even need to clock in and out using fingerprint recognition, or move the training location to office buildings or hotels to help students get accustomed to the work environment earlier. Students are immersed in busy work every day, continuously practicing their vocational skills through work. These training centers adopt the philosophy of '30% lecture, 70% practice.'"

Experts believe that IT vocational training should emphasize skill drills, not just theoretical explanations. Technology needs to be combined with real-world engineering cases, and skills should be taught in a work-like manner.

"Additionally, you can visit classes or communicate with graduates of the training center. After all, consulting staff at training companies will never mention their own disadvantages. We need to talk to current students and graduates to truly understand the effectiveness of the institution's training." At the Xiangji Lide IT Training Center, reporters also learned that the average post-tax salary of current graduates exceeds 3500 yuan. Compared to the tuition fees at Guangzhou Beida Qingniao, a post-tax salary over 3500 yuan makes the investment in knowledge worthwhile.

In the short term, vendor certification training and employment-focused training target two different groups of people. However, some industry experts believe that in the long run, high-cost 'IT certificate-style' training institutions will gradually be replaced by 'practical-type' training institutions because, regardless of whether it's high-end or low-end, the ultimate goal of training is to acquire higher-level skills for the workplace, not just a piece of paper. Companies increasingly value technical expertise, and the era of relying solely on certificates is fading away.