VBA Courses - Questions To Ask

If you are considering investing in an Excel VBA course, we have a list of the questions that you should ask before signing up. As a hint, not many course providers will be able to answer yes to these questions..

The facts are simple - buy courseware materials, put your own logo all over it, rent a computer room and charge candidates $750 - 900 for a 2 day VBA development course. It is time to dig a little deeper and if you or your company is considering paying for class-based VBA development courses, then the below are the key questions that you would like (expect) training providers to answer an unequivocal yes' to:

1. Do your trainers have actual industry experience?

In other words, are the instructors / support personnel career instructors who have simply learned enough to present the course or are they individuals who have actually used their skills in real-world environments? This is very key. being a Microsoft Certified Trainer does not mean that they have the knowledge / skills that are actually required in the workplace.

2. Have your instructors ever developed software?

In line with the above, it would be ideal to know that the people presenting / supporting the course actually have developed software. This is a far cry from presenting disparate snippets of techniques to beginners. Ask to see an example of their work before booking.

3. Professional developers use code library applications - does your firm provide them as part of the course?

If the course offered does not provide a code library application - ask why not. It's what professionals use and if you are to get some real value out of the course - ie actually develop a project, then this is a must-have resource that should be provided.

4. Professional developers use coding tools - does your firm provide them as part of the course?

The use of coding tools is widespread amongst professional developers - whether it is in the development environment or not. In terms of VBA, this would usually come in the form of an add-in to the editor. Again, if they do not provide one - then ask why not.

5. Do you write any aspects of the course yourselves?

The vast majority of training providers simply buy their courseware from a third party and impose their own logo on it. It would be good to know that at least some elements of the courseware were actually produced in-house. Naturally this gives confidence in the ability of the trainers / support staff from a candidates perspective.

6. Have any of your instructors had any articles published in the print media?

Nothing wrong with online article sites but anybody can publish via this media. It is a testament of the technical expertise and knowledge of the trainer if they have had articles published in the widespread print media.

If a provider can answer yes to all of the above questions and their answers are correct then at least you can be assured that:

• The instructor / support analysts have a high level of technical knowledge, and,
• The course comes equipped with the tools and resources that a professional would use.