New Horizons Singapore

Световната мрежа New Horizons Computer Learning Centers има над 300 учебни центъра в повече от 70 страни и годишно доставя над 3 млн. учебни дни под формата на присъствени курсове и повече от 1 млн. часа онлайн обучение. Независимо в коя част на света са разположени, центровете на New Horizons отговарят на едни и същи високи изисквания и спазват установен корпоративен стандарт по отношение на качеството на предоставяните обучения, квалифицираност на инструкторите, комуникация с клиенти и партньори, техническа база. Благодарение на това, оторизираните обучения, които можете да получите в център от учебната мрежа на New Horizons Computer Learning Centers, имат еднакво висока стойност по целия свят.

В поредица от интервюта започнахме да ви представяме отличените с 5 звезди центрове на New Horizons. Учебният център на New Horizons в Сингапур е един от 9-те центъра, носители на престижната награда Five Star Center of Excellence за 2010-2011 г.

New Horizons Singapore - Team

New Horizons Singapore
Web site

Awards:
2010-2011 Five Star Center of Excellence Award winner
2009 Asia-Pacific Center of the Year

Authorized Training: Computer Application Courses (Windows 7, Microsoft Application Courses, Adobe Courses, Microsoft Technical, Cisco, IBM, CompTIA, Novell, Oracle, VMware, Zend PHP Training, ITIL, Project Management Courses, IBTA Certified Business Professional (CBP)

General Manager: Franky Espehana

Mr. Espehana, what were the most popular courses in 2010?
For the last 10 years we’ve been active in Singapore, the center’s “bread-&-butter” products have been Microsoft Technical courses. In 2010, courses leading to MCITP certifications have overtaken the staple MCSA/MCSE. This is consistent with our move to push new technology programs to our customers.
Another core product component is our business skills certifications, including Project Management and ITIL for managers. We’ve developed ourselves as an all-round training house that offers certifications at different levels of their careers (e.g. entry level, executive, management).
For Microsoft it is obvious because of the launch of latest technologies e.g. Server2008, Virtualization, Microsoft Office 2010, Cloud Computing etc.
As for the reason why PMP and ITIL are becoming more popular, it is because of the maturity of the IT industry in Singapore that requires highly professional and competent staffs to manage.

Was there a demand for courses on new technologies?
Yes, definitely. We’ve seen a demand for Office 2010 and Visual Studio 2010. But, as with all new technologies, the demand is gradual due to the rate of adoption. We need to consistently talk about these technologies to our clients through sales & marketing initiatives.

We’ve also seen a growing demand for Cloud Computing & Virtualization related programs. Beside Microsoft technical courses like Server 2008 with Virtualization, we also see demand for VMWare courses. Cloud computing is also drawing more attention. Web application programming related courses (e.g PHP and Java)  are also drawing more attention from the Software Development group. This is because of the tremendous growth in the On-line sector, for example the Web 2.0 sites and also surely because of the Cloud.

What were the most important changes in IT in 2010?

One of the most important changes in 2010 is the growing adoption of cloud computing, which started to draw attention during the second half of 2010. We are seriously watching this latest development in the IT industry and decipher how these changes will translate into training needs. For example we have made partnerships with technology vendors such as EMC and Cisco in anticipation of the VMware-Cisco-EMC Cloud Computing adoption trend.

What were your most successful activities in 2010?
In 2010, we successfully established ourselves as a front runner provider for business skills training such as Project Management & ITIL. We’ve managed to break out of our usual Technical Training specialization and deliver an all-rounded offering for our customers.

What is the key to top performance and utmost customer satisfaction?
Excellent delivery of every class that we conduct is a must, this includes sales, administrative and operation, class delivery, customer service and post sales.

Besides that customer relationship must be maintained. Our product offering must be relevant with the current demand in the IT world.

What were the most popular learning methods in 2010?
Both Instructor-Led Training and Mentored Learning are important and both are popular.

Which of your customers prefer Online Live?
Unfortunately, we haven’t seen an adoption for Online LIVE in Singapore due to the small geographical area and high accessibility of our center office. The local culture also leans towards the preference of one-to-one contact with the instructor  which exists in ML and ILT.

Companies vs. individuals. Was there a change in the percentage rates in 2010?
Our breakdown ratio between companies and individuals has generally been 50:50. We did see a dip from our Corporate Sector in 2009 due to the recession, and more individuals due to increased awareness of self-upgrading. But 2010 was a recovery period, so the percentage normalized to 50:50 again by June 2010.

Do you communicate with your customers through social media, blogs, etc.?
Mainly Facebook and Twitter. We are experimenting with blogs and LinkedIn, but we have not truly fully utilized these mediums as yet.

Is your center involved in any Green activities? Or do you give back to the community in another way?
Yes. We are looking into an internal campaign to encourage our staff to adopt a greener approach. We’ve also supported some of our vendors’ Green drives such as Oracle’s eKit coursewares.

In what aspects do you expect 2011 to be different from 2010 for your center?
The year 2011 will be a time when companies are bolder in their adoption of new technologies as the economy has since recovered from the recession. We’ll be investing more time into exploring new technology training, especially in Cisco, Storage Management, Java, Oracle DBA and PHP.

According to you, what IT skills will be in high demand in your region within the next 3-5 years?
As the Cloud Computing starts to kick in, the demand for software architects and developers will grow more compared to system administration staff. In parallel, many new IT services will grow, offering various services which are much more complex and mission critical than those web hosting services in the past. This will require competent support team, equipped with well developed processes etc. That’s why we see ITIL courses which cater for the IT service industry will be in demand because they become more relevant to the business needs.

In what ways will IT training change within the next 3-5 years?
As technology becomes better to cater more for on-line training that needs high bandwidth and good quality communication lines, we may see more training that will be delivered on-line. This can happen also because the end users (student) are more mature and receptive to such technology.

What would you like to say to New Horizons students in Bulgaria?
Choose your Training vendor based on the following criteria that they have and not merely on price factor: commitment to excellent delivery, customer oriented, technology oriented, vast network among centers around the world, proven training methodology.

Thank you!