Is CIW recognized by British employers? PLZ HELP!

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Hello there

I'm new here...
I just wanted to ask for some advice regarding CIW certification, I'm really confused

I have recently started the CIW webdesign course, I purchased it through the Skills Centre and had a £5,000 CDL from the bank to pay for it.
After starting the course however someone brought to my attention that it is not recognized by British employers and it seems the more people in IT that I speak to, none of them have ever heard of it, the more I'm being to think I have been ripped off.

Can anyone offer me some advice please? Is it recognized in the UK? Is it a worthwhile Cert?
If it isnt worthwhile, is there anyway that I can get out of it?
Please Help!

Thanks very much

 

Hi Natasha,

2 years ago I paid £4300 to a different training company, which bought me 3 CIW modules but also 2 ASP.NET modules for less than you have paid

It may be very difficult to get out of your contract now, although perhaps someone else could be more specific than I

If you wish to get an idea of how recognised the CIW certification is, perhaps search under various IT job sites such as CWjobs etc, to get an idea of how often employers are mentioning it within their job adverts

 

As Wagnerk says, the important things are the skills and knowledge that you gain when doing any course.

I did CIW many years ago and really enjoyed it.
It's on my CV with my other qualifications and I like to think that the fact that I've gone out there and done something constuctive says something about me.

When you are applying for jobs, you'll either be faced with someone who knows about certs, or someone that doesn't. Unfortunately you never know which it will be, so whatever you do don't rely purely on the cert itself to get you anywhere. Make sure you showcase your skills in layman's terms too, and that way it doesn't matter if the cert is 'recognised' or not.

 

I too am doing the CIW right now I'm well into section 2 (Javascript fundamentals)

I was fortunate enough to have my fees paid for by my work but was still disappointed when I had signed up then found out it was as well recognised as I had thought.
However there isn't really any other course like this specifically for webdesign and once I had gotten over the initial disappointment I realised that I was still studying what I wanted and would gain alot of the knowledge I was after but I would just need to supliment the course with all the resources on the net. theres loads out there worth looking into and it will help you better understand parts which you might find confusing in the coursebook explanation or if you want to go into more depth. I have to say there are a number of things I am learning now which I dont think I would have even been aware of until I was much father down the line if I wasn't doing this course.

as far as getting a refund I'm not sure but from what I have read from others Skillstrain are not th best at refunding once you have signed up.

I would suggest you look on it posativley and make the most of the course by adding to it and putting things into practice. test new things out and dont be disheartend if you make mistakes or get stuck. how else do you remember it next time!

Here are some good resources to get started with._

http://www.video-tutes.com/

http://www.w3schools.com/

http://www.killersites.com/

http://css-tricks.com/


Hope this is helpful to you.

 

Hi again.......

Thanks for the suggestion on joining the community, will try that, still not very good at this yet

I know £5000 is such a LOT, and I have since been advised I could have found the same course elsewhere probably cheaper....

Anyway, thank you for your post and advice on building a good portfolio.

 

Hi....

Thanks for your post...

I think you are right...it is practically impossible to get out of once signed it seems so I will have to forget that...

The site you suggested is great, there do appear to be plenty of jobs in IT there specifically mentioning CIW...


Thanks for that

 

Thanks for your post....

I am enjoying the CIW too, its very interesting and the skills I am learning I think will be very useful, I was just disappointed to find out that it wasn't (anywhere near) as well recognized as the company selling it to me said, especially considering the fee.

But I cant get out of it now I've signed, and it is something different and I'm learning from it so, as you say, I will just have to make sure I provide employers with a good portfolio.

 

Thanks very much for this post....It is SO helpful....

And these links are great