Monday, October 17, 2005

Learning with Learndirect

I hope you enjoyed reading my post on England's world cup chances. But, I am not just using this blog to write about football. No, my blog contains literature on any subject that happens to interest me. And Learndirect is one such thing.

So, for those of you who have never heard of Learndirect. What is it? Well, Learndirect is an adult based learning scheme aimed at improving IT and basic skills in English, Maths and a few other things besides. There are also a substantial number of courses tailored towards business skills e.g. accountancy, finance, marketing and the like.

Essentially, these courses are delivered in two ways. Either on-line or via work books and CD-ROMS. These can be studied either at home or at Learndirect centres equipped with computers for delivery of courses. This way, you can just walk into a Learndirect centre and start your learning (providing there is a computer not being used). Therefore coining the term, flexable learning - learning to fit around your own time.

Of course, you do not work in isolation entirely. Personal tutors are available at centres to provide assistance with courses being studied. A time sheet is kept, which is kind of like a diary of what you have done on your course in each learning session. When a course is completed, you have to complete some sort learning aim as evidence of what you have learnt.

Now, few things are free. And, most Learndirect courses come at a price. The cheapest are available for the likes of £10 while the most expensive go for hundreds. They come in different shapes and sizes. Some are only a couple of hours in duration while the longest can take an estimated 48 hours which would amount to a number of months.

Of course, if you are on benefits then you can get exceptions from payment. That is to say, a great number of courses are made available for free. Providing you can come up with some sort of evidence of receipt of benefits.

So if ever the time comes when you wish to improve your skills, you may wish to take a look at what Learndirect has to offer. Their web site address is:

www.Learndirect.co.uk

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