Software Education Celebrates 20 Years of Software Development Training

Internationally recognised local experts in software development training, Software Education, this month celebrate 20 years of software development training.

Formed in 1990 as a result of a management buyout of the education division of Datacom, Software Education have been leaders in the introduction of world-class, professional-level training for software developers in New Zealand and Australia.

Managing Director, Martyn Jones, has led the Software Education team since its inception in 1990.During this time Jones has been witness to significant change within the IT industry, and the software development training industry in particular. As he says:

“When we started all those years ago, most were predicting the demise of the classroom and a wholesale move to Computer Based Training of one sort or another. Particularly for advanced training, the classroom has remained as strong as ever.”

“What’s more, we’ve seen a variety of ‘silver bullets’ come and go - technology solutions proposed to lift our productivity in building software. What has endured is the people factor – as Yourdon, de Marco, Lister and others have told us, it is still all about the quality and skills of people. Research clearly indicates that the quality of the people in technical teams has more influence than tools and techniques. That’s why Software Education offers “soft skills” training alongside pure technical courses.”

Jones believes Software Education has made a significant contribution to the software development industry. He says:

“Whilst we do have competitors - we’ve seen many come and go – Software Education has consistently delivered professional-level training for software developers that no one else could match on quantity or quality. In particular, our unique connection to leading experts throughout the world has enabled us to bring these people “down under” to both contribute new ideas and build capability with many of the region’s more sophisticated software development shops.”

And in many respects, Software Education has been ahead of the wave. For example, some years ago they brought Kent Beck, Jim Highsmith and Alistair Cockburn to this region to talk about Agile. They also took the initiative to establish a software testing certification authority in NZ and Australia (what has now become the Australian and New Zealand Testing Board (ANZTB)).

It is this network, he argues, which not only ensures they stay at the leading edge of software development, but also paves the way for delivering more of their courses world-wide:

“Late last year Software Education granted a licence to South African IT training company, NextGen, to deliver one of our flagship courses, “Business Systems Analysis” in South Africa. We will actively pursue any opportunities to grow our business in this way - we are working in exciting times!”

# # #

About Software Education www.softed.com

With 20 years of experience, Software Education are the internationally recognised local experts in software development training in New Zealand and Australia. Offering more than 50 different course titles in Business Analysis, System Design, Programming, Software Testing, Executive Development and Agile Development, we not only provide access to leading-edge content but also get our customers connected to an unrivalled network of international experts.

Whether through our public courses, individually tailored in-house training or our international conferences, STANZ and SDC, with our help our customers acquire practical, relevant skills which they can use immediately. What’s more, we can help customers acquire certification, if that’s important to them.

# # #