As you consider your job options, work as a plumber, electrician, or HVAC technician may be among your top choices. Entering these fields once required technicians to train at costly vocational schools, where rigid schedules made it difficult to keep up with work, family, and other commitments outside of school.
Advancements in technology have created a new way for you to train for a vocational trade without these barriers. If you’re eager to get the training needed to work as a highly-skilled technician, NexTech Academy addresses five key reasons why you should explore the increasingly popular option of obtaining your technical training online via vocational training programs.
1. Flexible Training Times
Time is one of the biggest drawbacks of classroom learning and traditional apprenticeships. While there’s no doubt students benefit from working closely with an instructor or a mentor, doing so exclusively requires time to complete training on a set schedule that works for the school, not you.
In contrast, online vocational training programs allow you to learn at your own pace and to complete your HVAC technician, electrical, and plumber training coursework when it’s most convenient. There’s little doubt this is a key factor in why one in six students completes his or her degree or training program entirely online today.
At NexTech Academy, for example, students complete lessons as their schedule allows. This also enables you to learn at a pace determined by your ability to make progress. While traditional classroom environments operate on a preset schedule, our online vocational school makes it easy to identify your strengths and areas for improvement. You will tackle more complex topics and materials when you’re ready.
2. Comfortable Learning Environment
Where do you feel most comfortable? For some, the answer might be a classroom. However, those individuals are rare. Many students prefer to learn in an environment where they feel comfortable, calm, and confident. That may be in the office of the company they’re training with, a favorite coffee shop, or simply a comfy chair in their living room. With online vocational school, your vocational school classroom can be anywhere you prefer to study.
NexTech Academy’s fully online framework makes course materials, assignments, and assessments available to you anywhere. That means you can tackle a tough module in the quiet of your home or dig into an activity with oversight from your mentor at work. Additionally, you’ll never need to worry about traffic or dangerous winter weather keeping you from attending class; simply boot up your device, log in, and get to work.
3. Virtual Classrooms with Diverse Courses
Online learning has really evolved over the last decade with new technologies and advancements allowing in-depth, comprehensive training in virtual classrooms more than ever before. This enables online vocational schools, such as NexTech Academy, to provide a greater variety of courses, giving you the chance to study topics that once may have been impossible to teach online. Video lessons offer an engaging alternative to dry readings, while interactive exercises ensure that our trainees are fully immersed in each activity.
NexTech Academy uses these technologies to offer electrical, plumbing, and HVAC technician courses online that address the full range of skills that every competent technician requires. At the same time, these developments make it possible to cover important soft skills you must build before entering the trades. From customer interactions to critical thinking and beyond, the online learning environment enables you to achieve the comprehensive technician training you need in a single easy-to-access interface.
4. Easy Access to Online Vocational School
Even with all its benefits, the technological aspect of online vocational school can be intimidating. This is especially true for students without a great deal of computer and tech experience, who may imagine complicated programs and the need for expensive devices. Fortunately, this could not be farther from the truth.
In general, the only requirements for accessing online vocational training are your computer, tablet, or mobile device and a Wi-Fi connection. As long as you can access the Internet, you’ll be able to find your course materials in one convenient location. While every training program has its own requirements, these will all be made clear to you before instruction begins. If something goes wrong, helpful tech support professionals will ensure your problems are resolved in no time.
5. Lower Your Training Costs
Postsecondary education is becoming more costly, with the average student taking on $30,000 in student loans. Trade school, in general, can be a smart way to prepare for your career with lower costs, but even then, the required investment may seem staggering. There’s also no doubt that most students must carefully budget their finances to include not just education, but also housing, vehicle expenses, childcare, and much more. With this in mind, it can be difficult to take on student loans or finance the high costs associated with many traditional vocational schools.
Online trade and vocational learning at NexTech Academy offers a cost-effective alternative to suit your budget. Additionally, you’ll find payment options that are more attractive than those offered by conventional training programs.
NexTech Academy, for example, utilizes a subscription program with monthly payments rather than large lump-sum tuition bills once a semester. What if you decide the trade you’ve begun studying isn’t for you? Cancel at any time and there will be no further charges; you’ll only pay for the online training you complete.
Enroll Online Today
Are you ready to explore a rewarding career in the skilled trades? If so, NexTech Academy offers in-depth online vocational programs designed to help new plumbing, electrical, and HVAC technicians acquire the essential skills needed for success. Check out your next steps to get started with training, or contact us for additional information on our online vocational training programs.