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Dice has announced its latest Website targeted at the certification and training needs of technology workers.
Dice obviously sees training and certifications as a large opportunity in the current economy and recession. It’s a pretty smart idea to extend its brand in this way. You may be on its job search site, so why not get your training through the company? But really, it’s not Dice that is offering the training; it’s offering you access and higher visibility to training and certification programs that are already out there.
But here’s the potential hook: Dice has set up a list of preferred vendors that offer a money-back guarantee if you don’t pass an exam or certification program.
From the Dice press release:
“Dice Learning includes self-paced and instructor-led classes, certification tracks, bootcamps, books, videos, and seminars. Training materials are available through partners who were selected based on their reputation, scope of services, number of locations for training centers, authorizations by hardware and software providers, and the quality of training curriculum. The screening process removes the burden from technology professionals to evaluate the efficacy of different offerings.Additionally, Dice Learning matches required skills from thousands of Dice.com job postings with training materials necessary to build those skills. The breadth of learning methods combined with Dice Learning’s optimized search engine allows technology professionals to find training based on their preferred method of study in one search, as well as help them further their careers.Courses offered by Dice preferred providers come with a money back guarantee. If an individual fails to pass the certification exam related to the purchased course in the second try, the individual will be refunded the entire cost of the courseware, class, or bootcamp for that exam. See dicelearning/discounts.php for details.“
Dice is also touting the search engine on this site as being a whole lot more match-friendly to your needs. I’m not yet sold on what this really means, other than it spent some time trying to help you find the training you want quickly and easily. That’s not a bad thing.
I did a quick random search of Project Management in Omaha, Neb., and results showed up. It was easy, but what search isn’t easy these days on a brand-new site? I found this search claim to be more hype than something of note.
While I can’t vouch for the quality of Dice’s program, in theory it’s a good idea to offer a little extra financial cushion to make something like this work.