Intermediate training recommendation needed

jarnone

I am looking for a good online training resource for the intermediate exams. I bought one package and its not to hot. I did it based on recommendations I saw on here. The video looks like it was done in the 90's and there is basically no support material to use to study with.

Any suggestions is appreciated.

Liz Gallacher

I would recommend ITSM Zone. It is run by Claire Agutter who is a major contributor to this forum, but she probably would be embarrassed to recommend herself. The materials are good, there is a printable study guide, exercises, and tutor support via email.

Claire Agutter

Thanks Liz

jarnone, if you've got any questions about the ITSM Zone materials you can PM me here or contact our helpdesk at support@itsm.zone.

Kind regards

Claire

jarnone

Thanks. I had looked at the website and I thought it was a little high. I used it for the foundation exam.
I will look again at the pricing. I am working on the SS exam and basically I have been digging around for other material to help with.

OctalDump

I'm going through the same process already. This is what I've learnt so far:

Buy the books and read them. If you take the Capability track, then still get the books for Lifecycle as they are rather more substantial than the Capability handbooks. The Capability books come with a cross reference for the Lifecycle books.

There's also the Passing your ITIL Intermediate Exams book. You can also access practice exams through the Axelos website.

Gogotraining has online courses, which you can get for cheap. But their biggest benefit is that they are accredited. I have a feeling that you might be familiar with Gogo, though. If you can get it for cheap, then you can at least tick that box and then use whatever else you like to prepare - books, free videos, websites etc.

If you go to a training company, it is typically a 4 day course, with half day revision and exam on day 5. So, that should give you an idea of the number of hours you would like in an online course. New Horizons seem to be the only company in Louisiana offering accredited training - New Orleans or Forth Worth. You can take the training as Online Live. But it is not cheap - about $3000 per module.

Liz Gallacher

Any training company offering ITIL training must be accredited - Gogo, ITSM Zone etc. are accredited. You cannot sit the exam unless you have had the training from an accredited training organisation - whether that is classroom or elearning

Claire Agutter

I know price is very important when selecting a training course, but we've had some students come to us after purchasing a cheap package and then having major problems (no course completion certificate, no exam results, no support, poor quality material).

Before you make any investment in training I would recommend you include these elements in your evaluation:

Test the customer support - is the company responsive?
Ask about tutor support - how is it delivered, how quickly will you get answers to questions?
How long do you get access to the course for? What restrictions are there?
What supplementary materials are included?
Double check the accreditation
Ask for demos of course material if you can't find them on the site

It's great to pass an exam but training is about learning something and having new skills to take forward in your role. Many companies (including my own) have ITIL Expert packages that are significantly cheaper than buying a full set of intermediate courses individually, so it's worth taking a look at those too.

Kind regards

Claire

OctalDump

Liz Gallacher wrote: »

Any training company offering ITIL training must be accredited

This isn't, strictly speaking, true. Anyone could offer ITIL "training" without being properly accredited or even certified in ITIL themselves. But as you say, if you want to be able to do the intermediate or expert exams, then you need accredited training. The best way to know, is to go through Axelos website and search for accredited training companies. The APMG international site also offers a look up, but seems to be less complete.

But for any certification training isn't, and certainly shouldn't be, the only resource. Reading the books (this is a not really optional for ITIL Intermediate, unfortunately), watching videos from youtube, reading blogs, talking to ITIL practitioners, whatever you find that helps you understand the material.

jarnone

Thanks for all the input.
Claire, I am paying for this myself so I need to see if I can pass the SS exam before considering paying for a package.
Thanks again for everyones input.

Liz Gallacher

Anyone providing an ITIL course, even if not for one of the recognised qualifications has to pay a fee to Axelos for the use of any material - including the word ITIL, strictly speaking. They do pursue people and websites who have not paid this annual fee.Axelos accredits all the various Examination Institutes, who are responsible for accrediting the trainers and training companies for the qualification courses. So APMG, as an Examination Institute, will only show those training companies that they have accredited - the same is true for Peoplecert, BCS, Exin etc. That is why their lists are shorter.

ItsmHarun

I am looking for a good online training resource for the intermediate training. I did it based on recommendations I saw on here. I had looked at the website and I thought it was a little high. I used it for the foundation exam.

Lchungwe55

Normally this is my citeria for selecting any course provider


Authorised Education Centre by the exam body


Quality of content (see Preview content if any) - so that we know how the course are provided if we sign up


Exam included with the course fee (if any since the pricing of the exam differ if you book with the course provider and the exam body)


Convenient (if web-protored provided or not)


Support


Pricing = This would equal to the quality of content, exam included and support

Hope this help


Regards