Students at Fife Women’s Technology Centre (FWTC) are turning their lives around using innovative teaching methods to become networking engineers. Now the work of the Fife Women’s Technology Centre has been highlighted by a survey commissioned through a partnership of Cisco and the Scottish Qualifications Authority and authored by Stevenson and James Watt Colleges, reviewing innovative and effective approaches to delivering networking courses.

Most of the trainees at FWTC have either never worked, or have not worked for many years. Many have backgrounds as carers or in part-time jobs, such as cleaning, with no recognised qualifications. They have often struggled with education in their youth. No-one has a background in IT.

The centre, which has been running for 16 years, is in an economically depressed area, in Dumfermline, and most of the students are in receipt of benefits, or on a low income. Many are single parents. But at FWTC they are able to tap into new ways of learning to follow the Cisco Networking Academy Programme and take their Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) exam.

They have no ‘lecture’ style classes and work at their own pace. Even so, while Cisco insists on 70 hours learning per semester, the technology centre trainees do 212 hours and the centre has had 100pc success rate in getting students to complete all four parts of the training course. They complete every lab in the text book and training officer (electronics, maths, CISCO network instructor) Marion Kelly feels this makes them uniquely equipped for industry where the theory is only useful if it can be put into hands-on practice.

“The trainee works at their own pace, no lectures, no boards. In every class in this building the students have the power to dictate the speed at which they learn. We treat everybody individually,” Marion kelly, Cisco Network Instructor.

Before beginning any course at the Fife centre, students fill out questionnaires to find out what type of learner they are which helps them to organise their own studying, and then practical support is offered by the centre to enable them to attend.

Marion Kelly explains; “We pay for everything. Materials are free to the students. We pay childcare and travel. We have a 9.30am start so they can get their children to school. We have found that after school care is easier to come by than before school. The only thing they have to pay for is the exam. But we guide and mentor them into doing the CCNA exam as all the work is no good without it.

“We believe it is not the knowledge alone from the learning materials that matters, it’s doing it. Trainees have to negotiate having use of the lab equipment. They have to put the lab equipment back and fix it before they begin. In industry, no-one’s going to be fixing it for you or putting it back.

“When we built the lab room, we put faults in it. They have to fix the faults before they can begin their own work. Obviously we will help and give guidance, but we won’t do it for them.”

This is the only course in the centre where some basic literacy and numeracy skills are a pre-requisite, but that still gives the trainees a chance they would otherwise find hard to access.

Two staff run the course, both electronic engineers, Marion Kelly and colleague Lorraine Boyle. But they also have to be masters of a wide range of skills.

Women in Fife are tapping into new ways of learning to become Cisco Certified networking Engineers

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CISCO Networking Lab

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When students reach a stage where they need to add fractions to follow the course, for example, they may find that this is something they missed out on at school. So the tutors will bring in maths materials to work through until the trainee is confident to go on and apply that to the Cisco course. ESOL tutors are enlisted to help those who don’t have English as a first language and students have a tutor present 100pc of the time.

Each student takes part in an eight-week work placement in the South Fife area which they have to find themselves and can often lead to employment when they qualify.

Every semester trainees must all undertake a project. The centre is sent projects from the US but the tutors prefer to create their own. They sometimes ask students to rewire rooms in the building as not all rooms are networked. Local companies also provide projects. For example, recently one local employer was downsizing and two women from the centre organised their new network.

“We find our own and more relevant projects, and that way trainees can put their projects on their CV, along with their placements, and because they do all their own labs and fixing they can use that as work experience too,” added Mrs Kelly

On the last course the centre ran every student got a job, except one who has gone on to do a degree using the CCNA as their entry qualification. In total they have found that 70pc of their trainees have found work as IT/networking engineers. Some of the others have gone on to further education – one has even come back to the centre to work with the young people on courses there. They are now also taking male students with support from Learndirect.

Student support is one of the major strategies for FWTC’s success. Three Counsellors are present at all times in the building. A continuous review for dyslexia, dyspraxia or other learning disabilities occurs

throughout a trainee’s time there. Difficulties, whether personal, financial, emotional or educational, can be identified and the right support mechanisms provided to ensure success.

“Everyone who takes someone on from here is pleased. The council has now taken five or six of our trainees. And all the companies that use our trainees think highly of them. They take with them many other skills because of the way we work, such as organisational abilities and their personal development, which are important in industry too,” said Mrs Kelly.

Proven successThe Centre has achieved a 100% success rate for candidates to complete the Cisco Networking Academy program. Around 88pc of trainees at the centre progress into either further education or employment. The Women into Networking project is split with two-thirds of candidates enrolling in the Networking Academy Program and the remaining third in the Microsoft IT Academy. Of the current intake, 42% have secured employment in this field already. The centre won the Best Practice Award for ICT for ESF funded projects in Scotland.

So what do the students think? Innovative ways of working have proved a hit with students, as one trainee said: “Staff are very approachable. Given the open access approach it is easier to learn. Small class sizes do help.”Another student said: “For the Cisco Case study

What’s on offer?The centre offers the Cisco Networking Academy program for CCNA. This is split into 11 weeks for each of CCNA 1 and 4 with slightly longer - 13 weeks each - for the more practical elements CCNA 2 and 3, although exceptions can be made if students’ personal circumstances mean they need longer to complete the course.

Generally tuition is either on a one-to-one basis or in small groups. Classes are restricted to no more than �0 and there are breakout sessions for more difficult topics such as IP Sub netting and VLSM.

Since the centre is used as a community education resource there is no rigid timetabling for theory or practical sessions. Candidates are encouraged to spend at least 6 hours per week engaged in practical activities. Instructors follow a unique delivery mechanism – the lab is staffed for 3 days per week with candidates able to drop in and utilise the full �8 hours.

Joanne Thomson, Winner of the Career Changer of The Year award, �006 from Learndirect Scotland, who successfully completed her CCNA on her first attempt

we redesigned a network for a local company. This reinforced elements of CCNA 1 and 2. As there is no restriction on the amount of practical sessions the course is more aimed at providing practical skills employers want. I spend 1-2 hour per night at home studying with my family’s support.”

And enthusiasm for taking the CCNA was high, as one student said: “I have spent the whole day practicing for the skills tests. This is good. I will probably attempt the CCNA exam in August once the course has finished.”

Real life scenarios and one-to-one working have helped other trainees, one explained: “I have undertaken a case study I can actually apply in industry. We have better equipment, it is more personal, more approachable with more one-to-one help than other places. I feel I can really achieve something here.”

Joanne Thomson, Career Changer of the Year, trying her hand on the zip line at one of FWTC’s fundraising days at Fordell Firs, Dunfermline. All trainees participated and monies raised went to charities in the Fife area.

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‘Based on a series of case studies featured in the Cisco ‘State of the Nations’ Scotland report commissioned though DIVA (Digital Media and ICT Vendor Alliance) Programme. DIVA is the Scottish Qualifications Authority’s flagship initiative to collaborate with

industry, education and employers on updating and expanding the Scottish ICT and digital media curriculum and awards. Find out more at www.sqa.org.uk/diva

Copyright © DIVA Project 2007. This story is based on a case study from the Cisco ‘State of the Nations’survey report authored by Michael W Smith collaborating on aspects with William McCabe.