Thursday 10 September 2009

Training on the move

I seem to be spending a fair bit of my time on the train at the moment (and trying to resist the temptation to splash out on first class tickets).

It's great if I can spend that time working. But mobile broadband doesn't always work on the train, so it needs to be something that I can do offline.

As a qualified chartered accountant, particularly because I'm now looking after clients of my own, I have to make sure I'm up to speed with any changes in accounts and tax legislation. I can glean a certain amount from the online and offline media, but structured, targeted courses, written by professionals, are the best way to pick up on those changes.

But taking a day, or even half a day, out of my schedule isn't always practical, especially as there aren't that many courses taking place here in rural Cumbria, so it'd mean a long journey to Newcastle at best.

OK, how about finding courses I could work through on the train? That means online courses are a no-no. Courses on a CD-ROM? My netbook doesn't have a CD-ROM drive.

No problem, said a helpful gentleman called Matthew Page at training provider CCH today.

Before you travel, put the CD-ROM into your desktop. Put an empty memory stick into your desktop. Drag the files from the CD-ROM on to the memory stick.

When you're on the train, put the memory stick into your netbook.

Hey presto, training material that I can work through on the train even if my mobile broadband won't connect and even though my netbook doesn't have a CD-ROM drive.

And, even though they don't say so on their website, CCH take payment by monthly direct debit so I can spread the cost over 12 months.

Great stuff.

1 comment:

  1. M,

    I think we'll see a huge increase in this type of CPD over the next few years. We are all becoming ever more busy and can not afford to take the travel time etc out of our week to attend all the CPD we'd like to. Good on CCH for recognising this and doing something about it!!

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