Trainer slashes price of Microsoft certification

IT skills company QA Training is offering a fixed-price bundle that it claims slashes the cost of Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) certification by several thousand pounds.

The certification bundle includes classroom- and web-based training; mentoring, exam preparation and all exam fees. Other tracks in the pipeline include Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Comptia A+ and an MCSA to MCSE upgrade path.

laQA Training operations director Hugh Morris admitted that the training industry was under pressure to reduce costs. "Training is being slashed to the bone. It's a simple free hack when times are tough," he said.

"The list price is £3,800 - compared to £6,500 for an instructor-led course -and delegates also save 12 days away from the office," he added.The first MCSA course is due to run in August and is aimed at support personnel as a first step towards MCSE certification. Delegates should have six to 12 months experience with Windows 2000 in a support environment, general PC skills and working knowledge of Lans.

Although organisations have a huge need to manage learning resources, the initial outlay and ongoing maintenance costs of learning management systems is putting many companies off, QA said.