Database development and training for Birmingham and the midlands
Specialists in Microsoft Access and Visual Foxpro database training and development
I am happy to hear from existing clients but I am taking no new calls.
March 2015
I have now retired and am taking on no new work. I'd like to thank all our customers over the past 20 years. It really has been a most enjoyable time.
Training Conditions
These notes answer some of the questions we are asked about the organisation of our training courses, They describe our normal way of working but arrangements can be flexible.
Please call or email if you need more detailed information.
Terms
- Courses on a client's site are charged at a basic daily rate with a small adjustment for the number of delegates.
- A typical day's course runs from 09:30 to 16:30. This gives four ninety-minute sessions with breaks for coffee and lunch and allows for preparation beforehand and questions afterwards.
- We can arrange courses away from your site if you feel that delegates need to be separated from their everyday work.
- The course fee includes a copy of the manual for all delegates. We can present these in your corporate style if required.
- Free email support is provided for three months after the end of the course.
Booking Conditions
- Provisional bookings may be made at any time but will lapse if not confirmed within a week.
- We ask a 50% deposit to confirm the booking with the balance within 30 days of the course end.
- Confirmed bookings may be cancelled without charge up to four weeks before the start of the course. After that, cancellation fees rise from 25% to 100% week by week as the start date approaches.
- Alvechurch Data retain copyright in the manuals and training materials.
Training Environment
An appropriate training environment is essential if the course is to deliver benefits:
- No more than six delegates
- One PC each
- Isolated from the main network so that operational data cannot be harmed
- Appropriate software loaded - including the Help and Sample files
- Flip chart with paper and pens for the trainer
- A quiet room with no interruptions from other staff
- Breaks for coffee or lunch every 90 minutes
We have found from experience that courses run more smoothly if these extra conditions can be met:
- High-spec PCs reduce frustration - databases need much more disk space and memory than word-processors.
- Big monitors - a basic 800x600 screen cannot show enough information.
- A printer - otherwise delegates have to use pen and pencil to record useful snippets of code.
- Typical data from the delegates' work available - learning is more effective when it can be associated with familiar applications.
- Preliminary meeting between trainer and delegates - the examples on the course can then be tailored to match the delegate's background.
- MS Office loaded - importing and exporting data are often important parts of the course.
- Data projector - modern databases use a visual interface instead of typed commands and delegates need to see what the tutor's mouse is doing.
- A data projector is essential for three or more delegates.
Preparation
We will always be on site half an hour early to ensure that everything is set up and working correctly before the delegates arrive.
"Service contract management and invoicing have improved markedly over the last 12 months with Alvechurch Data's assistance & experience"
Will Farrell, Service Manager, Direct Air & Pipework, Coventry
"I just thought I would drop you a line to say thank you for the time you spent with us last month. Both Jackie and myself thought that the training was superb and were especially appreciative of the extent to which you tailored the course and the extra time you spent to help us with some of our more complex issues."
Thomas Still, Research Executive, Product Perceptions Ltd, Crawley
"Geoff Franklin proved to be very responsive to my request for urgent help with Access database information. He took me from a standing start to producing simple reports in 1 day and solved a long outstanding problem with extracting Foxpro based tables , which our reseller had failed to complete. At the end of the day we had a short usable outstanding Purchase Orders report - a first in 10 years! Highly recommended."
Bob Lock, Skyline Systems, Cheltenham
"As a trainer, Geoff Franklin has the rare skill of getting trainees to work through the material themselves without him taking over the keyboard. As a result they have confidence to apply the learning after the session."
Peter Jackson, Holly Training, Leamington Spa
