Mcse computer based training

With the growing demand for Windows NT technical staff, the Windows NT training industry is moving into high gear. ENT looks at the various kinds of training available -- form CD-ROM-based courses to 4-year colleges -- that propose to ensure that students pass the MCP and MCSE tests.

The hot demand for Windows NT means if organizations don't grow their staff, Windows NT technical staff, they run the risk of not having any at all. There are 15 percent more Windows NT technical support jobs today than there are qualified people to fill them, according to recent reports. By next year, the NT skills gap -- the difference between the demand and the supply -- will widen to 20 percent.

With this kind of demand, the Windows NT training industry is moving into high gear. A recent search of the Internet under the key words Windows NT and training generated tens of thousands of hits. The choices range from books and CD-ROM-based courses to Internet-based, online training to a wide range of instructor-led programs. Community colleges and even 4-year colleges are jumping onto the Windows NT training bandwagon with certificate programs designed to ensure that students pass the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and Microsoft Certified Software Engineer (MCSE) test.

Even with this kind of industry support for Windows NT training, it will take a serious commitment of dollars and time on the part of organizations adopting Windows NT to close the skills gap. But the only alternative is to pay premium salaries to woo away Windows NT professionals from other companies.

There Is a Time ...

In terms of time, it takes months to complete the full NT training. William Helgeson, enterprise system consultant for Entex Information Sevices Inc. (Ryebrook, N.Y.), is the proverbial exception that proves the rule: Charged with setting up a Windows NT training program for Entex's staff, he started Windows NT training through Productivity Point Int'l (Hinsdale, Ill.) last November. By February, he had become certified as an MCSE, and by April, he had qualified as a certified instructor.

Other people supervised by Helgeson completed the entire MCSE training in 6 months, and even that was fast. "I think that 8 months is more reasonable. And if you don't have a big lab environment [in which to practice], it could take 15 months," Helgeson suggests.

The training challenge comes form the complexity of Windows NT, which is deceptively simple because of the Windows 95 GUI interface. "NT is basically a UNIX kernel with a GUI interface," explains James Chellis, charged with MCSE educational content at CyberState University (Orinda, Calif.), a provider of online Windows NT training. The GUI eliminates the need to type command-line instructions, but it doesn't eliminate the need to understand the technology.

Experience with a PC and networking in general makes learning Windows NT easier, reports Ron May, who places Windows NT professionals as president of Specific Recruiting (Chicago). Prior experience with Novell's NetWare, however, offers a debatable advantage. "Certified NetWare Engineers [CNE] have an advantage because they already have experience in basic networking," observes Rich Delli Sante, director of systems training at Prudential Insurance Co. of America (Newark, N.J.).

Once you get past the basics of networking, however, a CNE has no inherent advantage and may even be at a disadvantage. "NetWare is completely different. If a NetWare administrator tries to administrate NT, it can get confusing. Sometimes, it's better that the administrator has no experience with NetWare," observes CyberState's Chellis. And Windows NT's complicated domain structure, built around trust relationships, is unlike anything found in other networking environments, either Novell NetWare or Banyan Vines.

Regardless of where the person is coming from, the organization has to be prepared to invest significant time in Windows NT training. As a rule of thumb, it takes 40 hours of classroom training just to get started, says Chellis. To become proficient with Windows NT requires at least 200 hours of training.

Prudential has set up an intensive 7-week Windows NT training programming for new hires. Aimed at people who come to the company with some work experience and some networking experience, the goal of the Prudential program, called Windows NT Basic Training, is to bring students to the level where they can pass the MCP exam, explains Barbara Macecsko, director, organizational effectiveness. The company has already put more than 40 people through the program. One washed out. Al few have gone on the complete the MCSE n 6 months.

Rushing people through Windows NT training may not be effective. Aware of the backlash against Novell's paper CNEs -- people who simply studied the books and passed the test for a CNE, although they had never administered an actual Novell network -- Microsoft took a different approach. It designed the MCP and the MCSE exams to reflect Windows NT problem-solving ability in real-world situations. As a result, students can't simply memorize material out of Windows NT books and expect to pass the exam. They need hands-on experience with the technology.

"You want to take a few days of training and then work with NT for a while. Then come back and take more training," advises Donald McCain, a San Francisco-based Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) and MCSE and a Master CNE as well.

Sensitive to the time involved, Prudential also offers a Windows NT training program, called NT College, for existing employees who want to learn Windows NT but can't be spared from their jobs for a prolonged period of time. NT College spreads a 5-day, 5-hours-per-day class over 5 weeks, delivering the equivalent of one 5-hour class per week. The company allows the employee to pull half the time out of work time during the day. The person must also dip into his or her nonwork personal time to fill out the rest.

Southern Methodist University's School of Engineering (Richardson, Texas) provides a MCSE-track certificate program consisting of 320 hours of classroom instruction over 7 months part-time during the evenings. A fast-track format requiring half-day sessions can be completed in 4 months.

But classroom hours are only part of the commitment. Effective Windows NT training requires substantial reading outside class and practice in a computer lab. "The most successful students put in about an equal amount of time outside of the classroom," notes Dave Von Zurmuehlen, marketing director for Southern Methodist's program.

The Buck Stops Here

In addition to the time it takes, the cost of training someone in Windows NT is considerable, ranging from $3,500 at the low end to as much as $10,000 at the high end. The typical instructor-led classroom training costs $7,500 to $8,000. Calculated another way, the full course requirements for an MCSE requires a minimum of 23 classroom days at approximately $350 per day, which comes to just over $8,000, explains MCT McCain.

Organizations are approaching the cost of NT training as an investment. "We've had no problem justifying the cost of NT training by pointing out the critical work that NT administrators do for you," says Entex's Helgeson.

"We look at the cost of not training people," adds Prudential's Macecsko. An untrained Windows NT administrator, for example, may have to revisit a problem three or four times before it is resolved. This drives up costs two ways: Repeat visits by the administrator cost the company in terms of the administrator's time, and people whose systems are affected by the problem that isn't being promptly resolved lose productivity. And, if you base your staffing on a certain ratio of administrators to users, you won't be able to make your staffing ratios with untrained administrators, Macecsko warns.

Picking the right type of Windows NT training will affect the cost and the value received. Aldo Adriaan, manager of the Windows NT education program at Tandem Computers Inc. (Cupertino, Calif.), identifies three types of Windows NT training: general Windows NT certification training, limited focus training, and value-added training, such as an emphasis on a specific platform. Limited focus training concentrates the training on just one aspect of Windows NT, such as supporting a set of Windows NT applications.

Customized Training

For managers wrestling with the demands of Windows NT training, there are a number of ways to cut the cost of training. For example, CyberState's Chellis suggests employing alternative training approaches, such as online training, or negotiating in-house training sessions with larger groups of employees.

The training delivery alternatives fall into four areas:

1. Books and CD-ROM training.

2. Computer-based training (CBT).

3. Online training.

4. Instructor-led training.