FDM group / FDM academy interesting business model.

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Hey guys,

Today I was contacted by a ..well..a mixture of a training provider and recruitment agency. The way they work is that they pay for a 12 week training course although you have to fund your own travel expenses/accommodation and then they get you a two year work placement.

The catch? Well, you don’t pay for anything however you are bound to a contract. You have to commit to the 2year + 12 weeks and if you break the contract you have to pay up to 20k for the training. This still sounds pretty good however you have to be willing to relocate and you don’t get a choice as to where you are placed.


I found this:

"Hi,

Firstly, I should explain my reason for replying; I have worked for FDM for a number of years. This is my livelyhood, and when there is something that affects it, I don't just sit back - especially when I can see that I can help other people at the same time. I used to work on the Academy recruitment team, I now work for the Account Management team, more on the client side, if you like. I'm not a techy, although I have been through many elements of the technical training we give. Trolling round these sites is not my job, but sometimes I see posts with genuine questions that need genuine answers. My main motivation for writing is to get people through the door, because it indirectly affects my own welfare - there, I've said it, but it's not as sinister as everyone thinks.

I studied physics at Sussex University, and now work largely in the Brighton office. It's not a made up username, you could call up and speak to me. You can find me on Linked In, or Facebook.
I'm not going to go to take a big defensive stance over some of the daft accusations made on other sites, a bit of research on anyone's part should see straight through those, but I would like to just answer the queries here. There are clearly people here who would like answers, who have been seriously considering this as an option for a future career.

"I read that in the UK, if for any reason you do not finish the 2 year program, you will be contractually obliged to pay up to £20'000 to compensate for the training you received. Not only this but during the initial training and relocation you would receive no salary, and be expected to fund yourself."

This is true to an extent. We put in a large investment to the training, and the 2 years working on client projects are where we recoup that cost. The monetary sum is there as a safeguard to ensure that we can retain your services. During the initial training, yes, you are expected to fund yourself, although by that stage you have a signed contract assuring you of the placements. I would challenge you to find anyone who has been hit with a 20K bill. Our investors would not like to be associated with a company that works in that way.

"Therewas also no guarantee of a placement"

The work is guaranteed. You have it in writing. Consider the fact that if you were not working, our whole business model would fall apart, and we would never get any of our investment back? It makes no sense. The training is all in house, over a period of many months, with trainers with years of industry experience. This does not come cheap!

"there's a possibility you will get placed somewhere that doesn't even require the work you want to be doing"
Which clients would pay the rates of a software developer/test analyst etc. to fill a completely different role?

"I think you "repay" them during this period by them taking some off your salary"
Nothing is taken off the salary. We pay a basic salary at all times (so you still get paid between projects), and an hourly bonus depending on which year you are in. This will equate to £21k - £24k in the first year. Nothing is taken out, you could even work out exactly what you should be paid for any given week, with no surprises.

I hope this helps. I completely understand people researching a company, and I could tell you the source of many of the bad comments, but it just invites endless mud slinging. We have over 450 consultants employed, on site, right now, who would tell you a starkly different story to what you read. Our utilisation rate is over 99%, and the thought of good, intelligent people out there being put off is dissapointing when I am personally desperate for more resources for my own clients

Bottom line is, it is a huge commitment, you are looking at the next 2 years of your life with no firm idea of which locations in the UK you might find yourself. The training is not paid, and it is very full on and intensive.

I expect some kind of flaming to occur. If anyone has any serious questions, ask away. Cynicism welcome, you'll probably only be asking what someone else is thinking! "



What do you guys think?

 

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Don't know about this, but I can tell you one thing - they did development work for a managed government contract I worked a few years back and they were absolute crap.

 

haha, I dont know why - but that made me laugh :P Well, I replied and politely declined the offer as I don't realy want to relocate constantly for 2 years. Although, its quite a good business model and would work for someone who doenst mind constantly relocating

 

this works alot better then training providers who tell you to pay,

of course all of these training company will always have pros and cons, but this one will actually get you free training and put you into a job.

 

You just have to be prepared to relocate at the drop of a hat, sorry but this doesn't sound attractive to me, especially if I have a family as well.

 

Of course it's going to work for you! Firstly, you are already a well established professional, but, if you have a family this type of training is never going to work.

Those just graduating or looking to get into IT, and who have no baggage, this does SOUND appealing.