IITT Training Centre of the Year 2008 and 2007

We won this award. Again. Second year in a row. That's FIVE (count them), awards in three years.

Here are some photo's from the IITT Awards night.

This is what the judges said about why we won.

"Firebrand Training (formerly The Training Camp) offers training courses to IT and management professionals in any industry using a unique, highly effective delivery format known as Accelerated Learning. Accelerated Learning is a method that has been developed and proven for over fifty years, rotating visual, hands on and auditory learning elements throughout the day in a distraction-free residential environment. The greatest challenge of this total immersion philosophy is to how to facilitate students into a deep learning mode and then keep them there, without flinching. It is only by accessing this mode and by removing as many distractions
as possible that the vast amounts of information and first-hand experience may be imparted and absorbed.

It’s vital therefore to prepare them sufficiently for an incredibly intense experience and then to provide an environment that allows them to thrive under such pressure. This approach makes unique demands on the Learning Centre, both in terms of the facilities, the environment,
and the service provided. This is an environment in which it is essential to ‘get it right’ as any deviation from excellence will constitute an interruption in the skills transfer process.

The judges noted that Firebrand Training’s unique facilities at Heythrop Park are both impressive and totally fit for purpose. The company’s Accelerated Learning programmes require an environment that is learner focused and conducive to learning - and one that also involves minimising any distractions.

Great emphasis is placed on the importance of ensuring that all delegates are given maximum information and support prior to their stay. The customer services team proactively engage with every customer pre-arrival in order to ensure that information such as diet, allergies, requisite medication and any disabilities have been noted and provision made for prior to arrival that will make their stay as distraction-free as possible, enabling them to focus entirely on the task at hand.

The Learning Centre’s staff all receive personal development on a regular basis. In the last 12 months alone all staff have been trained in BIFM Health and Safety at Work part 1 and 2, and additionally have receivedcustomer service training by an external trainer.

It is rare to find a Learning Centre that also incorporates accommodation, full service catering, fully equipped labs and proctored testing facilities. The fact that Firebrand Training has been able to maintain and enhance those services over a period of sustained and substantial growth is evidence of its scalability.

The judges commented: “Firebrand Training’s Learning Centre is an excellent role model for the ideal learning centre and we have no hesitation in recommending it to receive the Gold Award for the Learning Centre of the Year at the IT Training Awards 2008."