Prerequisites for Programming Courses

Whatever the course you are interested in attending - Java, JSP, J2EE, C, C++, OO, VB.NET, C# or any of our other courses - please first check to make sure that you comply with the prerequisites for that course. This is as much for your benefit as it is for ours.

Meeting the prequisites for a course is not optional - it is essential.

The Importance of Prerequisites

Training is most effective when it is appropriate to the delegate's ability and current level of skill. It is detrimental to everyone involved if a delegate does not meet the prerequisites for a course:

• The unprepared delegate is quickly confused by the subject matter. This makes him feel frustrated and inadequate. The delegate will no longer enjoy the course, and will often blame the lecturer for this.
• The unprepared delegate learns much less from the course than he should have, because he soon falls behind and never gets a chance to catch up.
• It has a serious impact on the other delegates and reduces the benefit which they would otherwise have derived from the course.
  • The lecturer is forced to give more attention to the unprepared delegate, depriving other delegates of their share of attention.
  • It affects the pace at which the material can be handled, and may result in less content or less advanced content being covered. Our lecturers will always try and meet everyone's needs, but it is impossible to run two different courses simultaneously.
    If the lecturer adheres to the normal course plan and course content, as is strictly correct, the entire course often becomes a waste of time for the delegate who does not meet the prerequisites.
• Good training is expensive. Poor or inadequate training is much more expensive when one includes the cost of the actual courses, the salaries of the delegates and the wasted time. The inevitable result of not adhering to the requirements is wasted costs.

Please note that, for some courses, the lecturer may elect to test delegates at the start of the course to ensure that the prerequisite knowledge is in place.This may be in the form of a short written test.

Should delegates not meet the specified prerequisites, we reserve the right to exclude them from the course, and to postpone their attendance until such time as the prerequisites are met.

What are the Prerequisites?

The prerequisites for each course are specified, and will vary from course to course. There are a few prerequisites, in particular, to keep in mind:

• Almost all the courses require previous programming experience in a structured programming language. The only exceptions are:
  • Introduction to Programming.
  • Project Management for IT.
  • Client-side web development.
  • Note that a delegate without programming experience can attend the XML Development or JavaScript course, provided the alternative requirements are met. A programming background will, however, be an advantage.
• C programming experience is an essential prerequisite for the C++ programming course. By experience we mean a minimum of 6 months practical experience.
• A good knowledge of HTML (which is covered during the Client-side web development course) is required for any server-side programming course i.e. ASP.Net, PHP, Server-side web development and JSP.
• A delegate must have both a thorough grounding and practical experience in a language before attending the advanced course in that language. A minimum of 6 months intensive practical experience is recommended.

If you are not sure whether you meet the requirements, please contact us. We will either arrange to have a lecturer talk to you, or we can arrange an assessment.

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Essential Skills for IT