The old addage "You only get out what you put in" springs to mind. I have recently completed my 6129, 6089 and EAL course with OLCI. It took me nearly 3 years to complete due to my current job (hardly fastrack I know) but the flexibility of training was what I required. The only complaint that I had was from the admin support which at times was particularly poor although I must admit I have seen an improvement in recent months.
Any form of distance learning is going to be difficult and requires you to be self disciplined. Don't expect to turn up for exams having skimmed over the books and pass. Failing to prepare... Prepare to fail. That said there is more than enough support available, but you need to ask for it. If you find yourself struggling to understand the material there are plenty of other reference books available via amazon etc that may help (I used the JTL books which were great).
I cannot speak highly enough of the training centres. I conducted my package at the Birmingham Centre and the staff there were really helpful and are still on hand now if I need any advice. Ultimately it is down to you as the learner to maximise your time at the centre.
After the technical certificate is achieved is where most students hit a brick wall. There are many adverts offering work placements but in reality unless you are in Central London you will not get one. This is not purely an OLCI problem every training company out there will offer you the world (its their sales pitch). However, if you are committed to changing your career (if your considering spending over 5k I would suggest you are) then you really need to start advertising yourself to the market. Nobody is going to give you something for nothing. Forget any possibility of getting paid to conduct work experience for your NVQ, it will not happen. I must have written to over 100 companies requesting assistance, I got 5 responses and only one workable offer. Top tip always finish your letter with a comment that you will contact them in the near future to discuss any opportunities; this may cause a handful of people not to put your letter straight into the shredder! I then undertook work experience whilst I was on leave. It is possible to rush through NVQ assessments but your knowledge and experience will be extremely limited and I doubt very much that you will be ready to go it alone. Get as much experience as you can from people in the trade, this where you will learn the skills. Even though I've completed my NVQ I am still helping out a company for free as the expeience is priceless.
Apologies for this being a bit long winded but I think OLCI have come in for some unwarranted critisism of late (Don't get me wrong I'd be thge first to say if I thought they were not up to the mark). In sum OLCI can give you the knowledge however, it is down to you to gain the experience. Don't expect everything to be done for you.
