ASP.NET Radiation Training...Get Exposed!

I’m off next month to Perth for my regular visit, and last time I was there, I had some really good conversations with some of the local dudes around training and skilling up. We got onto the topic of different forms of training, and what methods suited which technologies. There were many different views and opinions, and to tell you the truth, they were all on the money, but what we all agreed on was there was enough light weight, hands-on style training to get people on their feet. Yeah there were awesome week long or two day training courses out there, but they cost money, and if you don’t have a job, because you don't have skills, then you don’t have money, and you don't get skills, and well, the cycle is pretty obvious!

So I went away, and promised my friends Brian and Chewy (I think he still cares about the West Coast now that he is in Singapore ;)) that I would come up with a solution.

So in true Dave style, I had to first come up with a catchy brand for my idea, then work out how to do it :)

My idea is called Radiation Training, and it’s all about being “exposed”. See, I reckon that, you don’t need to do full blown training to get a grasp of the tools. I feel that even just two hours of intense “this goes here and that goes there” style skills development is enough to get people started. Once they have that, they are on their way to self discovery. Now, my hope is that this kind of training will not only ensure more people get through it, but also, that more people feel comfortable giving that next web dev opportunity or job interview a crack. Once they are in a job and getting help form their more experienced peers, they can get themselves (either personally or through their company) into some proper structured training.

So my first “session” will be in Perth on the 7th of March, 2006 at Dimension Data Learning Solutions in Perth, and will be focused on ASP.NET development and deployment. Attendees will be exposed to all the techniques needed to design, develop and deploy a data driven ASP.NET web site using Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition and SQL Server 2005 Express Edition. You will also get a certificate at the end to recognise that you have attended the training.

I’m still working on the content, and once I have that nutted, then I will publish the registration links. There may also be a small costs associated with attendance, but this will be very small (in the area of $20 or so) and is to cover lunch on the day and lab rental, and also to encourage people not to pull out at the last minute (don’t worry, everyone booked in will get a personal call from me the day before :)).

Will keep everyone posted on this as it pans out!