“Workers in the IT sector who were able to set aside time and money earlier in the year for professional training should be seeing a slight upturn compared to their less qualified rivals.  Research for the Association of Professional Staffing Companies shows that demand for highly skilled staff rose by 7% in April – almost twice the growth rate for standard vacancies.  Those with industry-recognised qualifications who want to work on a full-time basis saw the biggest increase in opportunities, the research found, when compared to April last year” -- Contractor UK

Good news for those people who signed up for the training courses and got themselves qualified!  We have seen a huge upturn in the number of people taking ISEB/ISTQB courses, along with Agile (CAT) courses and ITIL courses, but I guess furthering your education can never be a bad thing!

We are finding now that more and more often, our clients are asking for potential hires to have certain qualification or courses under their belt.  It shows a higher level of learning and understanding, and combined with any relevant experience you may have, means you can ‘hit the ground running’ so to speak.

We’ve heard several times from Clients, that of course having an extra qualification can never harm your chances; in fact it allows you to fit into the more niche jobs where these things are a prerequisite.  So if you find yourself with some ‘down time’ or in between roles, why not further your education with some training courses!

For more information on our courses, please contact Victoria Head on 0208 940 2333

“BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, today launches the new syllabus for ISTQB-ISEB Certified Tester Foundation Level Certificate. The certificate is the most up-to-date and relevant qualification in the software testing industry providing testers around the world with global recognition of their skills and a professional foundation for their careers” -- BCS website

Testing Circle is a one-stop-shop for all training needs; from ISEB/ISTQB to Agile, whether you would like a course or a qualification, or if you want individual or company courses then we can help.  Since the new syllabus has been announced, we have seen a remarkable raise in enquiries and bookings through us,  from people starting out, to people doing a refresher course to update their knowledge.  The main difference is the code of ethics which is now a part of the teaching... “Delegates will learn how to explain the terminology associated with the ISTQB and understand the principles, psychology and code of ethics of testing” (BCS website) which basically means that Testers need to keep up-to-date with the latest information in order to maintain professionalism throughout...essentially so that everyone is ‘speaking the same language’ and the tester, employer and public are all together on one page.

“With increased acceptance as the industry standard for testing competency, many employers are now specifying ISEB & ISTQB qualifications as prerequisites in permanent and contractor placements. Testing Circle actively promotes the ISEB/ISTQB certifications to its software testing community. We understand the importance of specialist training for professionals on an individual and team basis.  Testing Circle has a wide range of training courses that is not limited to the ISEB & ISTQB training courses. Our course portfolio includes Microsoft and HP training courses and certificated courses such as the brand new Certified Agile Tester ‘CAT’ course to support the career development of anyone involved with software testing” -- Victoria Head, Training Manager at Testing Circle

For more information on Testing Circle training, please visit our Training section or email victoriahead@testingcircle.com or call 0208 9402333.