The Institute of IT Training has promised to crack down
on companies that mis-sell training by making unrealistic promises
that their courses guarantee high-paid jobs.
Chief executive Colin Steed said there was an urgent need to
protect people from hard-sell techniques which, he said, were
giving reputable training companies a bad name.
"We are extremely concerned that the rate of these complaints is
growing by the week. The market is worth millions of pounds and
some training providers are earning fortunes at the expense of the
public," he said.
The industry body has formed a working group of training
providers to develop a rigorous accreditation programme that will
assess the quality of training and examine sales processes. It
plans a code of conduct by December, which will include a cooling
off period after people have signed up for courses.
The institute is also pressing the Learning and Skills Council
to agree that it will only offer career development loans to people
who sign up with accredited training providers.