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JavaBlack announced the worldwide availability of SkillScan -- its cutting-edge, automated tool to assess the Java skills of job candidates.

SkillScan is used by recruiters and hiring managers to screen Java candidates and staff teams with the right combination of skills.  In less than two hours, SkillScan provides a comprehensive and conclusive report of candidate skills in Java programming, sub-topics in Java, and related technologies.

SkillScan speeds and improves the recruiting process in a variety of ways, including:

-- managers and recruiters screen and hire top talent far faster

-- developers spend less time interviewing on basic skills and more time on deeper skills

-- removes “stack of resumes” bottlenecks

-- HR managers have a reliable tool to quickly assess candidates from recruiters, and

-- with early screening, companies cut travel and recruiting costs

JavaBlackBelt CEO Nicolas Meeus said, “SkillScan is practical technology born out of the JavaBlackBelt community and is particularly useful for these times.  A recent survey by Robert Half International showed that the number one challenge in hiring is ‘too many unqualified applicants’ followed by ‘too many resumes’.”  He adds, “ As the economy recovers and managers begin filling technology positions, SkillScan can add competitive advantage to the recruiting process.”

SkillScan uses a series of self-assessment questions to establish skill levels in selected topics, then validates these levels with a series of weighted, rapid-fire, multiple-choice technology questions – a unique combination that produces a timely, conclusive report.  Questions are derived from many years of recruiting Java developers and mass-collaboration by the JavaBlackbelt community.  Test topics are configurable based on job requirements, including skills in Ant, Hibernate, Servlet, OO, Spring, and XML.  As SkillScan is an online tool, candidates can be evaluated anywhere and anytime during the recruiting process.

Consulting companies also use SkillScan to screen internal candidates when staffing projects and to verify skills before relocation.  Meeus explains, “We’ve had a major client with a startup operation in India quickly shortlist 200 internal candidates down to 20 using SkillScan.  Another client assessed their entire set of Indian Java developers before selecting a core team to relocate to Belgium on a key project.  And a third global client regularly attaches SkillScan reports to their project proposal bids.”

SkillScan is priced at €95 per test with volume discounts available.  To receive a free trial version, order SkillScan, or talk to an expert, call +32 498 84 69 91 (Europe), +1 617 418 4450 (US), or +91-11-43086342 (India), or email info@javablackbelt.com.  More information is available at the SkillScan Website.

JavaBlackBelt today announced immediate availability across the EU, the U.S., and India of its “Java & OO Fundamentals” and “Java Advanced” Coached eLearning courses.

Coached eLearning combines Java coaching and eLearning to deliver the fastest and most cost-effective way to gain Java skills. In a recent survey of members of the JavaBlackBelt community, developers selected Coached eLearning as the #1 choice for Java learning compared with instructor-led classroom training and self-paced eLearning.

Highlights of that survey include:

• When asked which learning method was preferred by developers and managers, respondents selected Coached eLearning over self-paced eLearning and instructor-led classroom training by 4:3 and 4:1 margins respectively.
• The top reasons for preferring Coached eLearning over instructor-led classroom training were: “It does not require travel”, “It fits into my schedule”, “It’s more affordable”, and “I can proceed at my own pace” -- selected by about 70, 70, 60, and 50 percent of the group, respectively, with this preference.
• The top reasons for preferring Coached eLearning over self-paced eLearning were: “I would retain the learning better”, “An instructor would help me overcome learning obstacles”, “I would prefer the schedule and rigor provided by an instructor” -- selected by about 60, 60, and 50 percent of this group, respectively.

In Coached eLearning courses, the coach remotely meets with the student to begin each course, reviews the course plan and materials, and agrees to a schedule. The student then learns at their own pace from the JavaBlackBelt eLearning platform -- online materials and videos, community forums, exercises, and exams. Along the way, the coach checks intermediate goals, answers questions, helps overcome obstacles, and oversees progress. The course is completed when the student passes the final exam, which, depending on the student’s schedule and pace of learning, follows one to two weeks of coursework.

Java & OO Fundamentals is the entry point for learning Java and covers all content and skills in Java SE and OO that Java developers must master to thrive in a typical professional project. The course requires that the student be a computer programmer but no OO knowledge or experience is assumed. Topics include Java Environment, Language Basics, Objects and Classes, Associations, Exceptions, Standard Libraries, Polymorphisms, and Collections. Also, the course prepares the student for all other Java Coached eLearning courses, including JPA/Hibernate, Spring and Java Advanced.

The Java Advanced Course is the ideal follow-up to Java & OO Fundamentals. It begins with skills that experienced Java developers must possess for success in their projects, then elevates the student to SCJP-level performance. Prior to enrolling in this course, students must pass the Java & OO Fundamentals learn exam, available at www.javaBlackBelt.com at no charge. Course topics include Syntax, Classloading, Annotations, Generics, Lifecycles, Overloading, Inner classes, Enums, and Exceptions.

Complete information, descriptions, and immediate enrollment for these new and all Coached eLearning courses is available at www.javablackbelt.com/coachedelearning.  For the full results of the survey, click here.

Other eLearning Courses open for enrollment or pre-registration include Spring Fundamentals (course and workshop), JPA/Hibernate Fundamentals (course and workshop), Java 5 New Language Features, Java SE Basic, Java SE Core Intermediate, Java SE Collections, Java SE Concurrency High Level, Servlet & JSP Fundamentals, Servlet & JSP Advanced, Struts 2 Basic, Seam Basic, jQuery Basic, and Swing Basic.

Tuition per course is $395 (US), €295 (Europe), and Rs 19,200 (India).

JavaBlackBelt just announced its “Coached e‐Learning” for Java developers.

In a developer survey to be released next week, this Coached e‐Learning was selected as the #1 choice for Java learning compared with classroom training and self‐paced e‐Learning.

Here’s how it works:

1. In these courses, the coach meets with the student to begin each course, reviews the course plan and materials, and agrees to a schedule.

2. The student then learns at their own pace from the JavaBlackBelt eLearning platform ‐‐ online materials and videos, community forums, exercises, and exams.

3. Along the way, the coach checks intermediate goals, answers questions, helps overcome obstacles, and oversees progress.

4. The course is completed when the student passes the final exam, which, depending on the student’s schedule and pace of learning, follows one to two weeks of coursework.

The company says that the courses offer an optimal blend of learning methods:

‐‐ the affordability and schedule flexibility of self study,

‐‐ the retention of exercises,

‐‐ the engagement of community learning,

‐‐ the measurement of exams, and

‐‐ the experience and guidance of instructors.

Coached e‐Learning courses are available across Europe, US, and India in: Spring Fundamentals, Spring Workshop, JPA/Hibernate Fundamentals, JPA/Hibernate Workshop, and Java for Managers (with more to come). Tuition per course is $395 (US/India) and €295 (Europe).

Read the full press release or register at www.javablackbelt.com/coachedelearning.

JavaBlackBelt is considering offering “coach-assisted eLearning” courses on Java technologies such as Spring/Hibernate/more. It’s a new type of learning and they are interested in your feedback.

Please consider taking a 5 minute survey and you will receive 10 contribution points towards JavaBlackBelt certification exams. Goto www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=SaH59Fy0TxcZykQKMN_2ftZA_3d_3d.

Thanks for your time and we look forward to sharing the results with you.