Blog post
Introducing GO.COURSES - the all-new Course Academy
By Chris Onslow 01 Feb 2018
It's been a big year for us here at GO.COURSES. We've got a new name, a new brand and a new website. We have a chat with founder Chris Onslow to learn more about what's been going on...
SO IT'S BEEN A YEAR OF ALL-CHANGE FOR COURSE ACADEMY, NOW GO.COURSES - WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON?
Course Academy has been connecting people with the IT and professional development training they need now for over 14 years. We started out as a couple of guys who wanted to provide the kind of training services we wished we could use. Now we run over 800 courses every year for many of the FTSE 500. It's been a brilliant adventure so far, but the Course Academy brand and website didn't reflect who we are these days, or who we want to become tomorrow.
TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT.
Nick and I have long believed that great professional development should be easier to access. As people, we do all that we can to make life simple for our customers, and our standard response is 'yes' - to even the most unusual requests. It got us thinking - shouldn't our brand and website reflect that?
We started work with UX and tech specialists with a simple objective: let's make organising training as easy as ordering a Deliveroo, or sorting out an Uber.
Now, 6 months later, the all-new GO.COURSES is live... and you can be the judge of our success!
WHAT DOES THE NAME CHANGE MEAN?
Saying goodbye to Course Academy was emotional, but our old brand didn't really reflect who we are today. Our new active name - GO.COURSES - and brighter, more modern new brand much better represent the kind of service we provide.
It's about showing that GO.COURSES training is accessible, premium and beyond easy to deal with. In a nutshell, we're here to make all things training-related simple. The big idea is to help you achieve great things, fast.. and hopefully become the biggest, best IT and professional development training partner in the UK.
ARE YOURSELF AND NICK STILL VERY MUCH PART OF THE BUSINESS?
Absolutely! Though Course Academy has a new look as GO.COURSES, and our site is a million times more user friendly (or so we hope!) some things will stay just the same.
Nick, the team and I are always just an email or a phone call away, and we'll always pull out all the stops to help you get the training you need in the way that best suits you. We're still totally up for using our expertise and contacts to make whatever you need happen - be that MS Office in Shoreditch, AWS training in Aberdeen, or unforgettable personal development sessions at the top of Brighton beach's amazing new i360 viewing tower!
ANYTHING ELSE PLANNED FOR 2018?
As well as being here for our customers, we're working on some exciting new course locations to add to our portfolio. I'm having a lot of fun researching fun, quirky places to host training days, from sky high spots like i360, to unusual listed buildings, even treehouses! We're also increasing the number of courses accessible through our Learn Live Online service.
WHAT'S THAT ALL ABOUT - IS IT LIKE E-LEARNING?
No - it's live learning in real-time, with a real coach, just delivered remotely. Basically, you can log into a live training session from wherever you happen to be. As long as you have a decent broadband connection and a relatively modern laptop or computer, you can join 25% of our classes. It's already popular with remote workers and businesses who want to reduce unnecessary travel.
SO WILL WE ALL BE LEARNING LIVE ONLINE IN THE FUTURE?
It's horses for courses. We believe that the future of training lies in finding every business's perfect fit - be that on-location for a brilliant bonding and networking experience, at the company's premises to save money, or remotely to suit busy diaries and remote workers. For us, it's about being flexible and delivering the world's best training in ways that work for you.
THAT'S IT FROM US ON THE BLOG THIS MONTH, BUT PLEASE DROP US A LINE AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT OUR NEW LOOK AND WEBSITE. GOOD OR NOT-SO-GOOD, WE LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS!
