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Encouraging people onto IT courses

Over half of people we spoke to who had not done an IT course suggested that there were things that would encourage them to do one.  There were several main issues raised.

Cost- Some said that they thought the cost of a course was prohibitive, and said that if a course was cheap or free then they would be more likely to do it.

Learner centred- Many respondents indicated that they would be more interested in doing an IT course if they knew it would be  tailored to their individual needs or personal learning goals. For some, this meant being able to work at their own pace or having a flexibility in course content. For others, it meant having an appropriate level of support, for example for those respondents with dyslexia.

Information- A number of respondents felt that more information ‘about IT courses and more opportunities’ would encourage them to do a course. Most people said that they needed more information, but a couple of respondents qualified this need for information by stating it needed to be ‘good’ information, suggesting it was not presented in a useful way for them.

Location & Time- Where and when a course is held was important to some respondents. Whilst some wanted a course to be near to their home (one respondent suggested at local libraries, which does currently happen), others thought they would be more likely to do a course if it was run in the workplace, or at the very least during working hours. For other respondents, the ability to do a course outside of their working hours was a consideration which would encourage them to do a course.

Other Learners- People wanted a supportive learning environment, whether this came from the staff or from other learners. Some respondents said that they would be encouraged to do a course if there were ‘friendly staff’ and a ‘friendly atmosphere’.  In addition to this, other respondents said they would be more likely to do an IT course if there were other people they already knew who were studying alongside them; ‘if I had a friend who wanted to do it with me’, ‘if I could do one with my daughter’. One suggestion for fostering this supportive environment was made by one respondent, who said they might do an IT course ‘if there was a group meeting with possible students and course teachers to discuss what we would be learning and meet other students’.