The Learning People

"It is with a heavy heart that I write this review, hoping no one else falls victim to the same situation I experienced with Learning People.

I came to the UK for a master’s degree in Data Science and having no prior programming experience, I wanted extra help to build my skills. That’s when I found Learning People. Their sales rep sweet-talked me into enrolling, saying their platform would support me through the course, help me gain certifications, and even assist with job placement. I trusted him and signed up.

About three weeks after enrolling, I found out I was pregnant. Knowing how tough pregnancy can be on me, I contacted the rep immediately to withdraw. But he convinced me not to cancel, saying I could take my time with the course and that my career mattered. I foolishly agreed, thinking I’d be supported.

Fast forward – after giving birth, my child had complications, and my world turned upside down. I couldn't focus on the course at all. Despite this, Learning People gave me no support, no check-ins, and the “job placement help” was nowhere to be seen. To make matters worse, they told me the course had expired and could no longer be extended or left open for me, but I still owed and have to pay them the full £4,000 fee.

I later found out that the same course materials were available on platforms like Udemy and DataCamp for less than £300! So, I was stuck with a £4,000 fee for content I couldn’t use and services I never received.

Now, I’m being chased for the remaining £1,600, with threats of extra charges. It’s heartbreaking, especially since I’m struggling to provide for my family as my child still requires medical attention and as someone not entitled to any form of benefit in the UK, this has been a massive financial strain on my whole life.

Please be cautious!!! If you're thinking of joining Learning People, do your research thoroughly before committing and do not fall for all these paid positive reviews you are seeing.
This has been an incredibly painful and costly mistake for me and I cry every day asking what I have done wrong to deserve this." - 09-10-2024 08:27

"This is basically a SCAM. AVOID at all costs. The course material is terrible but once you have logged in and seen it, you have 'accepted the course' and can't get a refund. The sales people hook you in and don't give you time to think about it. I am still paying for a £4000 course that I could not complete because there is a time limit. If you want to continue, you pay hundreds more for 'extensions'. You can't sit the exams that you have already paid for until you get 90% on their practice tests, but the practice tests don't match the course material and require multiple answers - but they don't say how many answers. I'm sure it is designed this way on purpose so they take your exam fees in advance but you never sit the exams." - 29-11-2022 10:17

"Once they take your money you will never see it again - PLEASE BE WARNED. I purchased the course just before Christmas (21st), Christmas is a busy time with friends and family, and after Christmas on the build up to new year I got covid, I finally managed to start the course on the 5th January. After 2 hours I thought the content/material was pretty poor, I immediately emailed enquiries expressing my dissatisfaction and requested a refund - no one ever responded to that email! After emailing and calling a few times trying to get a hold of the employees I had already spoken to (who had all the time in the world for me before purchasing the course) weren't keen to talk with me and help me with my issue and refund. I even tried to compromise as I knew getting my refund would be a challenge - I asked to reduce my package from 4 courses to 2 for a partial refund, and I've just found out this has been refused. It's a shame a company involved in education should not be such a scam." - 20-01-2022 18:54

"I enrolled with this outfit in January last year. It took me 3 months to get both exams on my first course finished the A+, I was then half way through my Network+ which is shorter but I became unwell with Covid (undiagnosed but 99% sure) in June and then didn't start again until late July, it took me until September to pass that exam. They helped me with my CV and Linkedin and showed me how to get interviews booked in and I was offered roles but they were only around £28k which is what I was on already. So I decided to wait until I get at least 1 more certificate from my package, meanwhile this whole process took around a month and so by the time I got going again it took me until January to get my 3rd certificate the Security+ and I am very very happy to say I have just started a £37,000 role with guarantee from my new employer (in the Pharma industry) that it will go to at least £51,000 once I have completed my next 2 certificates. This is where Learning People come back into it, they agreed back in November due to my Covid illness to give me a 3 month extension which otherwise would have run out in January. My next course the Pen Tester is quite a short one and then I will start the Certified Ethical Hacker which I get another 12 months on anyway. I would like to say thanks to Stephen who set me up and has called me every couple of months to check in, but also the Student service team who have really held my hand all the way through. The reason this is not 5 stars is because they couldn't initially authorize my extension, it had to get escalated to the manager because I didn't have paperwork / doctors note etc, I won't fault them for that too much though because they have been absolutely brilliant, a far cry from the last company I went with which I won't name. They promised they would get me there and I was a little skeptical but they have kept their end I will revisit this and upgrade it after my next cert. " - 01-03-2021 20:53

"I signed up for the ethical hacker course. The sales guy really pushed me to make a decision quickly. He said that there was a deal where I would save £1000 if I signed up in the next 24 hours (do they say this to everyone?) so I had no time to think through the decision. I signed up to the finance option and am now paying out about £100 a month for three years... even though the course only lasts for a year. I was told that the course was totally suitable for beginners and that if I studied for 10 hours a week I would complete it in 6-8 months. Sounds too good to be true because it IS NOT TRUE.
There's a 14-day cooling off period but you can't use it if you've started the course, i.e. seen how poor the content is. The content is essentially just powerpoint slides with a guy speaking over them. There are no photos of real parts of a computer, even though you are supposed to identify them in the exam.
I thought I was getting on well with the course as I would get 100% on the test after each lesson and felt my knowledge was growing. Then I came to do the practice tests. You need to get 90% on these to be able to take the real exam (although the sales guy had said 80% which sounded more possible). The practice exams are IMPOSSIBLE. The questions are often on things that are not covered in the course material, and many are multiple choice, but you're not told how many answers to select so you fail on these each time. Basically, I could never get anywhere near to 90% despite having done well on each lesson, feeling that I knew the material, and being able to do well on other practice tests online. So how am I ever going to get to sit the real exams?? I have a horrible feeling that this is their business model. They take your money for the exam fees up front knowing full well that you're unlikely to take the real exams (because you can't get the 90%). Your time will run out after a year and then they will either charge you for an extension, or you'll just give up and go away." - 19-02-2021 10:57

"3rd time lucky finding good quality IT Training that I can actually get on with!! Sarah has been great showing me around the platform, thanks for putting up with me on all this, genuinely an excellent experience so far! Really wish I had come with you guys in the first place last year!" - 07-01-2021 15:20

"found the course fairly easy to follow and straightforward. LearningPeople were nice to deal with and very responsive whenever I needed any help or support. exam was taken online on my computer at home. " - 01-12-2020 09:36

"I knew I needed to become certified as a PM to move roles and get a promotion from my research and speaking to recruiters. I had been working as a PM in a company in all but the official title for 8 years. Wasn't sure the best way to go about it but a colleague recommended Learning people as he had used them. It was very easy as they had a package with the Prince 2 exams and the PMP exam. The material was straightforward, and they helped me book my exams each time. They also gave me good advice when applying to the PMI and my membership was also included. I've 2 interviews lined up now and feeling proud of myself. " - 09-11-2020 18:55

"I was working in a customer support role in an IT company and knew if I wanted to progress I needed to be certified, but wasn't sure the best route or certs I needed as uni wasn't an option, time and cost-wise. I came across LearningPeople and after 2 very long informative phone calls with a nice man called Steve, I decided to enrol on the CompTIA collection. I did my A+, Security+ and Network+ exams so far and recently interviewed and was successful for a tier 3 role in IT support role in my company which is a big jump. I had a few calls with the career services team before my interview and they helped me get my CV ready, and did some interview prep, as I hadn't done an interview in a few years, and not for an IT role specifically before.
The course work takes lots of effort, especially at the start and it was a shock having to study in the evening and at weekends but the video resources and additional material in Percipio(learning system) are great, I found the virtual labs provided very useful. I failed my first exam by a few marks, but exam resit fees were included in my package so that took some the stress and disappointment away, and I got through the rest of them first time. I've one exam left that I hope to get done by the end of the year. I'm very happy with the support and guidance provided and so happy I went back to study. " - 13-10-2020 09:14

"I paid £90 for extra textbooks when I first joined them and then called them and found out I could have got them for free! It was those kinds of things that were off-putting in the early days but it would always be a 5 star review for me which I promised I would get around too (at the end). It has taken me 8 and a half months but I went from my CompTIA A+ with them to the EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker and am currently now employed at just under £49k (again slightly less than I was promised) but I am only working 30 hours per week from home. The team were brilliant for me every step of the way and their training was excellent. I would advise any new starters to ignore the practice labs at first, at least until getting on the Network+ / Security+ where they become more relevant, again you have to ask for the labs, they didn’t just give them to me. But overall they have been brilliant and I am now successfully in the new career that I’ve wanted for the last 4 years. As long as you put the work in, they will get you there.

Cath" - 16-07-2020 20:39

"Hello,
We have been made aware of these reviews regarding The Learning People on Springest.
We are always open to genuine reviews, and use Trustpilot, where content is moderated and we can respond to our students.
We note that a lot of the below reviews have also been posted on our Trustpilot account, where we have responded and reached out to the students offline.
We will always welcome fair and honest reviews, and ask you to review these on our Trustpilot, or speak to us directly, where we can discuss any feedback and questions.
Kind regards,
The Learning People.
" - 13-07-2020 18:26

"I have booked a course PMP through Learning Centre for a year subscription. With disappointment this course is out of date and it is also very expensive. Despite spending huge fees on this course, they couldn't even issue a proper CPD certificate to me. Please do not waste your money and time on PMP through this website." - 14-06-2020 19:13

"Took me 3 purchases from various companies to find one that actually provides training that got me to my exams and ready to pass them, so can't complain too much even if it took me slightly longer than I had hoped. They also did connect me with 4 companies which led to me getting a job. My main gripe would be the cost but after 2 previous attempts at doing it on the cheap I wasn't making that mistake again." - 06-04-2020 20:25

"Mis-sold a course, help and motivation offered but only until direct debits were successfully setup. Got none of the benefits I was promised at time of sale, totally fraudulent and zero student care. When I complained, I was promised help from customer services department but after the third broken promise, I stopped receiving contact altogether, no refund offers made even after proving the dishonesty of their company. £3,500 down the drain. Fraudulent and money grabbing company. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!" - 01-02-2020 22:57

"The Learning People was an awful place to work. Any old sales person giving fake promotions, over pricing, selling awful courses and having no industry knowledge.

AVOID and take a government recognised course." - 12-12-2019 12:26

"STOP CALLING ME.

This is not a careers company but a sales company. You give no thought to my career. I dont want your weekly promotion. STOP CALLING. Avoid and go direct to the course provider if anybody wants the course." - 25-09-2019 16:22

"I used to work there and we got paid on commission. Our target was based upon gross profit. The sales people would set the price to get the most gross profit.
Example: call in and say you’re a dentist, it’ll cost 4K. Call in say you work at Tesco, 2.8k.
Also the lies!! As it’s a sales company expect to hear what you want to hear:
Example: If you earn 40k per year already, expect to earn 80k when qualified. Earn 20k, expect 40k.
Starting salaries with these qualifications are more realistically 24k. It doesn’t take a genius to know that the big salaries require experience and a lot more than a self study course. Although expect to be told otherwise.
Don’t trust me? Call in pretending to be a high earner, see what is said and try another call (with new calling details as you will be saved on their CRM with notes) being somebody else and see what another reps tells you.
The other point of ‘exams included’ is worth knowing about. 80% of people don’t get round to exams so The Learning People never have to pay to get you a voucher so their profit rises more! They know that the missold expectation means most customers won’t get as far as exams. Unless you study non stop for years.
If the courses are for you, you have realistic time to put in (we are talking over 4 hours a day to be qualified in a few years) Go direct to the retailer for the RRP and not be upsold with student care (a rep who books exams) cv detox (a unqualified person looking at your cv) or exams included (only if you get there and pass a mock exam with certain scores).
This is your career but just a sale to them. Be expected to get stuck in a finance plan.
Expect lots of fake reviews to follow this as (much like their questionable rating on trust pilot) they fake review to get customers." - 29-08-2019 07:48

"The Learning People, where to start.

I found out the course costs less buying direct at the provider. The Learning People are a pushy sales front, increasing the price for their gain. When you pay they give you a budget course and leave you to it. NO TUTORS OR SUPPORT.
Its unrealistic you'll ever take an exam as the content/delivery is awful.
I wasted 4k on this!
I advise to avoid and dont get involved in this heavy sales and false hope.
The job/salary they told me I could get is untrue.
I work in a shop and was told I can be on 40k after the course with no experience!! LIES, I spoke to a recruiter. But I found out too late." - 11-07-2019 07:50

"It’s actually the worst online program I have ever bought. Not recommended to anyone who actually serious about learning skills for Cyber Security. I am very disappointed with the course. It was a wasted money. " - 26-05-2019 15:13

"This online program is so bad in terms of:
-quality (the tutor videos)
-content being taught contains gaps so it is hard to follow and understand
-the questions and challenges are poorly phrased so it is hard to understand what they are asking for, the questions are messy jumping from difficult to way too easy and back instead of building up and they're all asked at the end of a session containing several topics instead of after each topic
-hints are useless as they are way too basic something like "if you want to take this course you make sure you are connected to the internet")
-no handout material or anything to support the learning
After complaining about the content they have said to me I can skip sessions - well thanks for the offer but I have paid for this course and I am taking it to learn this stuff??!
Tutoring is only offered during office hours and one day a week until 9pm UK time which is not an option for me as I have a full time job (and it is just 1 or 2 hours per week, sometimes it takes them quite long to respond so you don’t get much out of your time) . And my personal mentor doesn't respond to my emails, apparently he has left the company so I will be getting a new one.
They just didn't put any effort into this online course at all and I can only advice people looking for a part time offering to stay away from this program! I won't waste my time on this and finish it, but instead join another course offered by a different provider." - 15-10-2018 21:00