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Edited highlights from ODL QC's "Websites of the Week". See more here
Like the English version this is a beautiful and well-laid out site, but this one, with its competitions and more stories about people having changed their lives after a spot of learning, has more "human interest".
Content is better too. Easy to understand information is offered tricky subjects like Funding and Qualifications, and in the Careers section, you can find the nearest advice centre.
By far the best thing about this site is the course search facility, which rather leaves the English version standing. Choose a general subject area, and from there you can get as specific as you like. More information is available on each course too, and an e-mail link for more information.
The DfEE Lifelong Learning site feels quite "magazine-y". I found:
reports from the Education and Libraries Task group and on prison education,
the LSC consultation document and
guides on ILAs and Career Development Loans.
The Opinion Poll is a nice touch, but unsurprisingly the questions asked are hardly controversial, and the results somewhat predictable.
"Key Learning Themes" point you to the relevant (generally DfEE/government) sites for issues such as "Qualifications" or "Financing Learning".
An ideal site if you're after information on government education, training or employment initiatives straight from the horse's mouth.
I went to find an answer to the question: "What qualifications do I need to become a programmer/networker/IT consultant...?" The answer was not at all evident.
In "Careers & Qualifications" I found links to download leaflets on careers in various bits of the IT sector. The "Qualifications" page of these simply summarises relatively well-known traditional qualifications i.e. degrees, HNDs, A-Levels. It did not talk about other national qualifications such as The European Computer Driving Licence, or about Vendor qualifications like Microsoft's, or make any attempt to discuss the pros and cons of the different routes in the eyes of employers in this sector. I did track down the ECDL, and another specifically IT certificate, and a discussion about how things like the Microsoft certification fits with NVQs, elsewhere on the site.
This page does announce itself as being "under development", and I hope they will go further in solving some of the dilemmas for those who wish to train to work in IT.
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