IPSWICH, UK - Global leader in data centre and network infrastructure education and training, CNet Training, is celebrating its 20th birthday this month. It’s a double celebration as the company is also the longest running education provider in its field.
CNet Training was established in 1996 with only three members of staff and a focus on training Military personnel in internal and external copper and fibre cable installation, the business grew rapidly. It quickly expanded its product portfolio to incorporate a wider breadth of subject areas including security and wireless, and soon became the go-to training provider for major companies throughout the UK and Europe.
Globally probably best known for being the very first data centre education provider, the company continued to design and develop data centre programs and soon the CNet Training name and the official program certifications turned into trusted global brands within the data centre arena.
Today, CNet Training’s work force has grown significantly, more than ten-fold, with staff based in three different continents. The company has moved UK Headquarters three times to accommodate the needs of the growing business and in addition to its UK bases, the company has offices in New York and Singapore.
CNet demonstrates great sector experience and has always been customer focused and quality driven. The company prides itself on having only full-time employed instructors, with no subcontracted staff, this ensures quality of delivery as each instructor follows a strict ‘train-the-trainer’ process which lasts between 6-12 months per subject matter before they are signed off to deliver the program themselves. The company has also gained the trust of the largest multinational organisations and industry professionals throughout the world. “Twenty years has seen CNet Training teach over 55,000 individuals to 70 plus different nationalities in 35 countries across the globe”, says CNet Training’s CEO Andrew Stevens, “with programs throughout Europe, Asia Pacific, the US, Canada, the Middle East and Africa.”
Being the only dedicated data centre and network infrastructure education provider in the world to award both industry recognised qualifications and official certifications, CNet’s offering is unique. A significant part of CNet Training’s history is the development of the highly acclaimed Global Data Centre & Network Infrastructure Education Framework, which offers industry professionals an opportunity to map training and education, qualifications and credentials throughout the industry, spanning from entry level to the world’s only Masters Degree in Data Centre Leadership & Management delivered with the prestigious Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, U.K.
CNet Training is also no stranger to winning awards. After just two years of trading, CNet Training was winner of the Networking Industry Award for Training Company of the Year. The number of awards have stacked up over the years including Training Company of the year (2002, 2003, 2004), it has been voted as one of the top ten Most Influential Organisations (2002, 2007) and most recently winner of the Intelligent Training Provider of the Year Award in Dubai and the Innovation in Global Data Centre Education Award won in Monaco.
As well as 2016 marking the company’s 20th anniversary, CNet Training has also launched the world’s first Competency & Confidence Assessment Modelling (CCAM™) tool for the data centre sector – a tool available exclusively through CNet Training. Looking to the future, CNet has plans for further global expansion and will be adding more programs to its renowned education framework and will launch within new countries across the world.
Andrew Stevens has been with the company since 1998 and has been the main driver for on-going development and progression throughout the years, he adds, “Lots of hard work and air miles has been put into the company and it couldn’t have been done without the dedication of the team, or without the excellent relationships we hold with customers, media contacts and industry associations around the world, many of whom we regard as friends. CNet Training is going from strength-to-strength and we have some exciting plans and developments afoot too. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the first twenty years and I know the next chapter will be just as exciting.”