So you’ve made the decision to carry out an Oracle certification, now how do you decide which one is the right one for you?

Well, this would depend on what career path you are looking to work towards. Every profession and their subsequent I.T. requirements vary so this requires some consideration to ensure you pick the correct Oracle course for you. You need to look carefully at the modules covered in your chosen course to ensure it is applicable to your occupation and you understand its outcomes.

Once you have chosen and signed up for the Oracle certificate you want to study you will need to prepare for its course requirements and exams. There are various materials available to help you with preparing for your exams from online blogs, forums and websites to offline journals, guides and books, as well as instructor led training programmes.

Oracle exams are either proctored or non-proctored. Proctored exams are considered high stake exams and are offered at testing centres and training locations around the country. Non-proctor exams are available online which can be a more accessible way to get certified as you can fit the exams around your current job or lifestyle.

For further information on any of the above or further details on which Oracle qualification to choose please call 0800 612 1299.

Oracle offers a wide range of certification programs to appeal to a wide range of IT positions. If you are looking or are working with Oracle related products, then there is a greater choice of choosing an Oracle course.

As mentioned in the previous blog there are vast reasons why both employers and employees should look to carry out an Oracle certification, but which one is right for you?

To start with, like any course you do, you need to decide on what you are looking to achieve in your current or future role or what aspect you are currently looking to improve.
Another thing you need to think about when deciding on your Oracle qualification is the type of technology you’re going to be working with. The current choices include: Oracle Forms Developer 10g, Oracle Application Server 10g and Oracle 10g and 11g Database.

Once you are aware of what you are looking to achieve and what facilities you require there is a vast choice of courses to decide on. For beginners, the introduction to Oracle SQL course will cover a range of modules, for those looking to work with Oracle. The Oracle SQL fundamentals course is suitable for people who need to work with an Oracle database.

There are also practical courses for database and system administrators and network managers such as the Oracle DBA fundamentals course and the Oracle DBA Performance & Tuning certificate.

Oracle certifications are considered a great investment and carry many benefits regardless of your skill level. With so much development going on in the IT industry there has never been a better time to get a Oracle certificate.

For a full range of Oracle courses or to talk about which Oracle course would suit you best call us on 0800 612 1299.

Oracle, as described in the previous blog is extremely useful for maintaining and managing data, however what are the benefits to you?

One of the main benefits of Oracle certification is that it enables employees to understand a wider range of skills required to operate Oracle in the workplace. This also allows employees to develop a better scope in communication with developers putting them in a better position to quickly resolve any issues.

A further benefit of Oracle certification is that it helps improve job and career prospects. Employees who have been certified will gain improved credibility due to the technical nature of the course. This also encourages employees to utilise Oracle in a greater aspect leading to opportunities to use Oracle to increase system performance.

Oracle certification can also be used to the advantage when pitching for work, as having employees certified with Oracle would give businesses a competitive advantage over their rivals.

More recently Oracle has gained increased industry recognition both due to the actual performance and the fact that clients in the industry are aware of the fact that Oracle certified staff are better equipped to handle more complex and technical tasks

See our list of Oracle training courses or to talk about how Oracle can benefit your workplace visit or call 0800 612 1299.

Oracle is a data management solution. To truly understand Oracle you must first ask yourself, “What is a database?”

A database is a collection of information of any form. The data can be textual and numeric, like order or inventory data, or it can be pictures, programs or anything else that can be stored on a computer in binary form.

A relational database stores the data in the form of tables and columns. Some databases have minimal feature sets and only store data, while others include programming languages, facilities and utilities to support enterprise-level applications like ERP and data warehousing. Oracle is the #1 database and has the most advanced feature set.

Oracle targets high-end workstations and minicomputers as the server platforms on which to run its database systems. Oracle has long been a champion of network computers. It was the world's first software company to develop and deploy 100 percent Internet-enabled enterprise software across its entire product line: database, server, enterprise business applications, and application development and decision support tools.

How it works

The Oracle program runs in the background, maintaining your data for you and figuring out where it should go on your hard drive. It is made up of a set of processes running in your operating system. These processes manage how data is stored and how it is accessed. The program is so sophisticated it runs in the background maintaining data and identifying where it goes on your hard drive.

Most relational databases, Oracle included, use Structured Query Language (SQL) to access data. SQL allows you to SELECT your data, INSERT new records, UPDATE existing records and DELETE records you want to get rid of. SQL can be embedded in other languages or you can run scripts of SQL directly against the database.

PL/SQL is the procedural language extension to SQL. PL/SQL is a programming language like C, Java or Pascal.

Tools

Oracle Developer - creates forms, reports, and graphics.

SQL*Plus - can access the database, write stored procedures and run SQL commands to retrieve data and run scripts.

HTML DB - is a fairly new application builder geared toward web development. This tool runs from the database and can be presented to the web using the Apache web server that comes with the database.

Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) - is the Enterprise GUI tool to manage the database. From this tool you can perform any action in the database that is required. This tool is primarily used for administration but can also be provided to developers for application performance tuning and monitoring.

Continually training employees can only lead to an overall better performance rate in the workplace. However, to transfer the knowledge into the workplace, follow these tips to ensure training is used to its maximum advantage:

1. The quality and performance of the trainer themselves makes a key difference. It has been shown that people react better to a trainer who is trained in the specific industry and can offer advice and support from their real life experiences to demonstrate to the participants.
2. Training should follow a structured training programme designed to help participants retain the information. Each class should relate to the last and to the next and should build on the values and skills previously learnt. It may also be handy to schedule the training sessions in blocks throughout the week, thus giving the participants a chance to employ their training throughout the week and analyse its outcome.
3. Managers could attend training sessions to reinforce their own skills and learn some new ones. Other employees may find it useful to see their managers using new skills and build their own confidence to implement them.
4. Although there is a huge array of skills and information to train people in, it is important to employ only the ones that are relevant and will be used consistently in a specific job. It is more effective for participants to be able to use their new knowledge within their field immediately.
5. Give pre-workshop articles or questionnaires. A pre-training exercise can bring a group together on one particular topic and sees some people understanding and retaining the training more prominently.
6. Keep the training varied, fun and stimulating from session to session. Use real life analogies, visual aids such as power points or whiteboards and encourage active participation which essentially encourages people to transfer their training back to their job.
7. To aid training and motivation, have a training partner. Whether self-chosen or an assigned one, it gives a chance to compare notes, receive feedback and motivate each other for each session.

For more information on further training your employees give us a call on 0800 612 1299.

A credit system has been introduced to support the ITIL V3 qualifications. From the V3 qualification to the earlier V1 & V2 schemes, the credit system shows recognition of investment the candidate has put in to the ITIL scheme.

The credit scores work by assigning a score to each of the ITIL qualifications upon completion of each module. From the foundation through to the expert scheme a credit score is added together and totalled up in an individual credit profile.

Individuals need to achieve a certain number of credit scores in order to pursue certain ITIL qualifications. The expert qualification in particular requires a minimum of 22 credits from previous modules.

ITIL V3 Credit scores

From building up a credit score candidates can achieve a higher level of qualification and eventually master using ITIL in the workplace. The modules are designed to give a clear insight into using ITIL in the workplace and significantly improving their career prospects.

Figure 1 – Official ITIL Credit Profiler

For more information on ITIL credits or modules give us a call on 0800 612 1299.