Are online courses right for me?
A colleague pointed me to your courses because they are very practically oriented, and he has followed courses with you. However, I also see that many courses are online, and I wonder if this is suitable for me. I have been working in Terneuzen for about 30 years as a Skilled Person in industry and have an authorization for NEN 3140 and NEN 3840.
Answer
We still offer all our courses in person, so that's always an option. However, we're seeing an increase in the popularity of the online version. The target group we mainly see in the online environment are often experienced people who want to update their knowledge or whose certificate has expired. You don't need to tell them anything about the execution of inspections or switching operations, for example, because they already know all that, but they might wonder what the standard says again and if there have been any changes since.
In the classroom courses, we also get such experienced individuals, but also people who are completely new to a certain area and thus need to be brought up to speed. In the latter cases, the on-site course is best. But, it seems you already have quite a bit of experience, so an online course would be a good fit, but an on-site course is more enjoyable, not to mention the lunch.
Another advantage of online courses, I think anyway, is that you have less 'noise'. During a classroom course, I tend to ramble to the right and then to the left, but in online courses, it's much more direct and structured. Another advantage is that you can clarify things very well with videos and photos. That makes it a good alternative with all those photos and videos of practical situations; that often works very clarifying.
And, a final advantage is that there's a pause button for the instructor, and that's nice sometimes.
Below we have put the choice for online or classroom in a table. In the bottom option, it says 'online or blended', which we encounter when a company has about 50 people, some of whom need 'refresher training' and there is also a group of 'newcomers'. Some then go into the online environment, and for those newcomers, we organize an in-company training. And, other variants are also possible.
Anyway, I hope I have clarified things a bit, and if not, just give me a call, and we can discuss it. But theoretically, you fall into the category: 'Experienced technician / refresher training' and you could do that perfectly well online.
Richard Winter