Experienced technicians take pride in finding and rectifying faults quickly, economically, and with minimum disruption to network services.

It is a skill that is perhaps taken for granted, except when it all goes wrong and the network falls apart for hours. As communications networks connect us to the services we all depend on, such disruption can have major consequences.

But is our experienced technician’s fault-finding abilities based on intuition, experience or logic, and is fault-finding a skill that can be learned?

PTT’s new online course “Network testing and fault-finding” provides the answers. Apart from describing structured approaches to fault-finding, the course describes the use of software utilities and test equipment for fault-finding and measuring network performance.

Through a series of events and social media activities, National Apprenticeship Week celebrates apprenticeships and showcases how apprenticeships benefit people, businesses, communities and our economy.

National Apprenticeship Week 2018 is co-ordinated by the UK’s National Apprenticeship Service and takes place from 5 to 9 March 2018.

Now in its 11th year, this national moment brings together everyone passionate about apprenticeships to encourage more people to choose apprenticeships as a fast-track to a great career and business growth

PTT has a keen interest in the efficient delivery of apprenticeships that are directly relevant to employers in the telecommunications and ICT sectors. PTT online courses are supporting the delivery of apprenticeships to leading telecommunications providers.

Modern business communications networks and the Internet rely on the inter-relationship between a suite of protocols some of which were devised in the 1970s and subsequently adapted and supplemented to meet the need for high speed, secure communications.

It can be difficult for those maintaining these networks to fight through the thicket of acronyms, equipment manufacturers’ own terminology, and the complexity introduced by protocol modifications.

Therefore, PTT has devised a comprehensive online study programme that ensures participants have a thorough understanding of the operation of networks using the Ethernet and IP suite of protocols.

The “Ethernet/IP networks” study programme consists of a selection of PTT online courses that begin with first principles and then lead through the various aspects of providing secure, reliable and fast communications within offices and between remote sites.

Programme participants have online access to a designated tutor who will answer questions about the content of the courses.