Software Developer Diploma

“I first enrolled for a computer course in January 2013, I only had very limited knowledge and knew I had to get more advanced skills. I started with word then decided I was enjoying my course and chatted with Linda the Manager regarding what options I should take and that would be best for me in the working environment, so we decided on Office Diploma.
I had just been made redundant from the Airline Industry, which had been my life for the last twelve years, so I knew I wanted to change my career. I had realised that IT skills are so important as I had now started looking for work and realised very quickly that the job market was very competitive.
I have not mentioned this till now but I am visually impaired and have been since birth so having a disability makes it even more difficult for employers to consider employing a disabled person, when so many abled bodied people are available so the training I received was incredible, the one to one help that the Glasgow ladies gave me was amazing I am surprised I never turned them to drink, but nothing fazed them they provided me with Zoom text and large print books and test papers. I was not very successful at school and the thought of taking exams really scared me but they sat me down and told me I could do it just take my time and they were right I managed to complete my Diploma.
I am now working for a charity called Momentum on the east side of Glasgow on a six months contract which was arrange through another charity to give me some office experience.
I enjoyed every day in the Glasgow office such a lovely atmosphere and such kindness that I was shown was just incredible and gave me a new found confidence.
Thank you team Glasgow, you’re the best.”

“I would just like to say thank you to yourself and all your staff for the wonderful training I received at Pitman Training!
I did the Microsoft Office Plus Diploma which took me through the whole Microsoft Office package and gave me a firm understanding in all the different areas such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc. It even allowed me to take electives in different areas such as book-keeping which widened my skills and knowledge in areas I hadn’t looked at before.
I undertook the training whilst I was studying at University and the confidence and experience the courses gave me during my degree and also when going for job interviews was priceless. The job market is terribly competitive at the moment but with the training I received at Pitman I had that something extra that employers were looking for, and the ability to talk about the courses and my experience at Pitman Training.
In particular, I had an interview where they tested my skills in Microsoft Excel. If I had not done the course this would have been a very daunting experience, however, knowing what I had learnt from the Excel course within the Diploma I was very confident in my skills with Excel. I even managed to spot a mistake in their test which I pointed out to them and no other candidate in the past had spotted it!
Consequently I got offered the job as a consultant in a pensions company. However, I did not take this job as an even better job came along within risk management in the banking industry and so I will be starting this in September. I know that they use a lot of Excel and other Microsoft packages and so I am looking forward to being able to show my skills in these areas and it makes starting my new job a more exciting prospect as opposed to one which before I may have been slightly worried about.
Thank you again!”

“I studied the Microsoft Fast Track Diploma and the computer keyboard skills course two years ago. At the time I was completing my Open University degree, and panicking because I had to submit a properly- bound word-processed project, including diagrams taken from scientific journals and I barely knew how to switch the computer on! In my first session I was advised to undertake the introduction to Windows course first because I didn’t have even the very basics.
Having overcome that first hurdle, I really enjoyed the course. The supervisors were really helpful and patient, and never made me feel that I was being stupid, even when I was! I got a distinction for the diploma, and first class honours for the degree. I am now studying for an MSc at Edinburgh University, and I don’t know how I’d cope without the IT skills I gained through the diploma. Even though I’ve forgotten a lot of what I learned through lack of use, I feel I have so much more confidence to try things I would not have attempted before.
My typing speed will never set the world alight, but compared to my former two-fingered jabbing it’s brilliant. Even my teenage daughters have stopped laughing at my efforts!
Thanks to Pitman for a real confidence boost!”

“I studied the Fast Track Microsoft Skills Diploma and touch typing. Before my training with Pitman I was unemployed as I had been made redundant. Within 4 months of starting my training I got a job working as Receptionist/Admin for The Edinburgh Physiotherapy Centre. I was successful in my application over other applicants due to the training I was doing and my boss was very impressed with the knowledge and skills I had learned with Pitman.
I was promoted to Operations manager within 6 months this was partly due to my knowledge base of Microsoft Office.
I thought the training I received with Pitman was second to none and would recommend your services to anyone. The service is excellent and the staff are very helpful and understanding. Thanks to the excellent service and training of Pitman I am now more confident and efficient at my job.”

“I studied the Microsoft Fast Track Diploma. I had been working in a beauty salon for 5 years – I was a therapist and in January I gave up treatments and became the full time receptionist. I really wanted a Monday – Friday receptionist role in an office but because I didn’t have much IT experience I knew that I would find the job search difficult.
The Microsoft training gave me the skills that employers were looking for and I found that once I had the qualification on my CV I started getting selected for interviews. As well as learning new skills the course also helped to just refresh my memory on some things that I could already do.
I am now working in a new job which is the Monday – Friday role I wanted. My job title is Customer Service Assistant. This is a Front of House role which involves a lot of meeting and greeting and looking after all of the tenants in the building who we provide serviced offices for.
I enjoyed the training as it felt very relaxed and I liked that I could go at my own pace. I am so happy that I got this qualification for myself. I really believe that without my qualification I would be stuck in a job that I really wasn’t happy in for many more years!
Thank you Pitman training!”

“Working as a secretary with Axis Media I felt that I needed to brush up my skills on some of the Office programmes that I was using as part of my job as well as gaining a recognised qualification. The Fast Track Diploma did this for me, and clarified some of the “mysteries” surrounding programmes such as Access which I had used slightly but never fully explored.
The course books and audio CD were clear and easy to follow, and the training staff were all very friendly and helpful, to the point of offering advice even after the course had finished.
Their unfailing cheeriness and sense of humour (together with the excellent facilities and pleasant working surroundings) added to the good atmosphere at the Pitman’s centre which is why I’ve now come back to do another course!”