Training
trān: 1. to make proficient by instruction and practice, as in some art, profession, or work.
What We Do
We offer many telephony, data, hardware and software subjects.
Telecom
- GTD-5® EAX
- 5ESS®
- Inter-switch trunk turn-up between Nortel DMS®, Stromberg-Carlson® and NEC®
- Inter-switch linking to STP supported by Nortel® and Ameritech devices
Networks
- Network concepts such as TCP/IP, UDP, etherswitch tables, etc. to prepare for Cisco® Certification
- 5ESS®
- ATM, SONET, H.323 and other data-packet protocols
Software
- CDMA 2.5 and 3G
- Operating systems and productivity software from Microsoft®, Apple®, Sun®, and Red Hat®
- UNIX-based shells and basic scripting skills
- HTML (thru 5.0), XML and CSS
The real challenge with being trained is getting usable knowledge passed efficiently and thoroughly. Many of the training methods we received as students over the years did not impress us. In fact, this was was one of the primary reasons we saw an opportunity to offer training ourselves -- we know how to make it fun, thorough, yet keep it moving.
We have also found that certain skills are never trained -- like how to troubleshoot. Curiously, many technicians are thrown into training and then at its conclusion, are assumed to be master problem-solvers. As discussed in our Support page, troubleshooting is a multi-faceted skill that requires experience and direction. So, we also offer the following training:
We have also found that certain skills are never trained -- like how to troubleshoot. Curiously, many technicians are thrown into training and then at its conclusion, are assumed to be master problem-solvers. As discussed in our Support page, troubleshooting is a multi-faceted skill that requires experience and direction. So, we also offer the following training:
Troubleshooting
- Troubleshooting Techniques
- Critical Thinking
Want a taste of what this is about? Have a look at our Logic Primer.
What's Different About Our Training
GTD-5 Training is a specialty of ours. But if you need this, can you really afford 14 weeks of non-productive time for every person who attends the training? We can get our students up to tier-2 support skills in around one-third that time. How is this possible? If it were that easy, wouldn't such training have been streamlined years ago? Well, the answer is yes and no. Due to the extremely technical nature of switching systems, telco's could never be sure how much training was needed for a given class of students, so everything from the basics to the advanced was included. But chances are, many of your employees already understand voice and network switching fundamentals. Although we will train fundamentals when needed, we have often found it unnecessary. We also target what you need trained: If you do not need to train your employees on how to read schematics because you do not perform component-level repair, then we won't waste your time doing so.
Telecom has undergone some major financial changes and we have all been pressed to be more productive. So, we also can incorporate an original concept in the telecom industry if desired -- adjourn class to work in a maintenance window and fix an actual problem or work on an existing upgrade. This is quite sensible from many perspectives: An online environment is where your employees are going to work -- train them there so they do not adapt reckless procedures obtained from only training within an offline-environment. Also, we know of no expert who disagrees that the best learning occurs when fixing real problems, not in a classroom with 5 students looking over the shoulder of one, somehow "absorbing" information. And of course, you get productive work performed at the same time as some training. Now that's being productive.
Not sure if you want to train in the real switch room? No problem -- we can do it offline too. The nature of the learning materials is identical. And there are even other, hybrid options such as using equipment you may already be planning to regrade or turn-down. Ask us and we can provide some interesting options that you may not have been aware of.
Quizzes are given in a challenging but friendly way, to help build confidence. Employees with different backgrounds and skills have their training adjusted to suit what they may already know. We never skip important concepts just because "most" of the class already seems to understand them.
Then there are the materials themselves.
Telecom has undergone some major financial changes and we have all been pressed to be more productive. So, we also can incorporate an original concept in the telecom industry if desired -- adjourn class to work in a maintenance window and fix an actual problem or work on an existing upgrade. This is quite sensible from many perspectives: An online environment is where your employees are going to work -- train them there so they do not adapt reckless procedures obtained from only training within an offline-environment. Also, we know of no expert who disagrees that the best learning occurs when fixing real problems, not in a classroom with 5 students looking over the shoulder of one, somehow "absorbing" information. And of course, you get productive work performed at the same time as some training. Now that's being productive.
Not sure if you want to train in the real switch room? No problem -- we can do it offline too. The nature of the learning materials is identical. And there are even other, hybrid options such as using equipment you may already be planning to regrade or turn-down. Ask us and we can provide some interesting options that you may not have been aware of.
Quizzes are given in a challenging but friendly way, to help build confidence. Employees with different backgrounds and skills have their training adjusted to suit what they may already know. We never skip important concepts just because "most" of the class already seems to understand them.
Then there are the materials themselves.
No bland horizontal slides here. Pages are detailed with color and figures to help memorization and appearance.
We know from experience what your people will probably need to know and what they probably won’t, so we also add some of those little SME-like tidbits that might come in handy.
We know from experience what your people will probably need to know and what they probably won’t, so we also add some of those little SME-like tidbits that might come in handy.
We then work with you before finalizing student materials to see what your unique concerns are before we start. That's what will be emphasized. We are not aware of anyone else using these and other similar techniques to both shorten the time for training, and to also improve its retention.
Student materials are designed and intended to be used over and over for easy look-up in the future, and usually include a mandatory segment, optional steps, and an on-page glossary of when and why the optional steps would be helpful. Color, font, space, pictures, and other print techniques are used to help keep the information distinctive and interesting. We also provide you a laminated copy of the training guide so you always have a readable copy which your dog cannot eat.
Student materials are designed and intended to be used over and over for easy look-up in the future, and usually include a mandatory segment, optional steps, and an on-page glossary of when and why the optional steps would be helpful. Color, font, space, pictures, and other print techniques are used to help keep the information distinctive and interesting. We also provide you a laminated copy of the training guide so you always have a readable copy which your dog cannot eat.
For example, you may already have a trouble-shooting GUI that tells you which card is bad and where it's located, any maybe even how to change it. Then again, it may be necessary to break a switch message down into it's machine-code segments and decode them from their hexadecimal, BCD, binary or octal formats. Hex truth tables are a little bit like using slide-rulers -- using them is a waning skill. Yet you might still need to use them.
Perhaps you need to envision a complicated concept, to help see the big picture. We like using interesting and unique visuals to enhance concepts that are difficult, or even those which are understood in principle but which are rarely seen "from 30,000 feet". Here's one -- the internet:
A visual representation of the internet
(courtesy Wikipedia).
full size
