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Thoughts about new Graphisoft Learn Program

Reinhard Copenraid
Contributor
I have a question that has been bothering me for quite a long time.
I'll start far away.
As a user of Archicad, I am very concerned about the fact that recently, in large building corporations, Revit's knowledge is more and more needed. Archicad becomes a solution for small architectural practices, it means a different level of earnings (at least in my country).
However, I invest a lot in training with Archicad.
 
Recently, Graphisoft introduced the new Graphisoft Learn Program and the new Model Authoring Bundle. Now, paid training courses are held not only for BIM managers but also for ordinary modelers. So a modeler applying for a not the most profitable position for small architectural practice has to pay almost the same price for the Model Authoring Bundle as for a BIM Manager applying for a more profitable position.
 
In the end I caught myself thinking that an ordinary user does not make money with Graphisoft, but only Graphisoft makes money from users?
 
The thought that instead of winning the competition with Revit on the market, Graphisoft only thinks about how to get more out of users who still remain is very crushing.
 
I make such an assessment because I can see that you can earn more with Revit.
 
Do you find that we are not making money with Graphisoft but only Graphisoft is making money from users ?
27 REPLIES 27

Exactly. This is the main objective here. Archicad can be used out of the box, but in a world with more and more complex buildings within a wide collaboration field using BIM processes, you need to comply with some agreed standards. There is no ready to be used solution for that, as those standards can be different not only based on your location, but also on a project to project basis. If you want to reach every set standard objective you need to know you ways within Archicad functionalities. Some of those are beyond the famous Archicad intuitiveness and you need to dig deeper into not only all available functions, but also adopt your Archicad workflow. The Learn program offers help with that, on many different levels. From basic to complex modeling up to Archicad BIM management.

More educated users will help gaining the edge over the competition, also true. But at this one I would argue that GS should reconsider the price tags policy. Better accessibility conditions would have an impact on the applicants numbers.

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Yes i agree with you totally about learn portal and hope for better accessibility conditions by reconsidering the price policy as you said and I hope they add discussion section to all videos for better understanding to the inputs and outputs logical reasons.

Also I feel the community represents the other hand to learn portal, It helped me enhance my Archicad skills in the right way which all users with different levels of experience are using and BTW it was different from which I learned initially despite it was by an authorized training center.

I see Archicad is as a language you should learn from native speakers.

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While i understand your point and do agree that some of these courses are needlessly expensive, i think you are directing your anger at the wrong place. Blaming Archicad because revit users might earn more is like being angry at contractors because doctors earn more than architects. Its a choice. Some might think its unfair, others wont.

 

More interesting though would be to ask ourselves, how we, as an industry, have let a software like revit have so much power in our lives?   "Because everyone uses it" i hear, but when so much people conform to the status quo without even atempting to go against it,  something is wrong with us, not revit or Archicad. 

 

The way i see it, you have 3 options: 

A)wait for Graphisoft to lower their prices.

B) switch to revit which might, just might, make you earn more, while sacrificing your sanity.

C)go all in with Archicad, make the most of it and make the people that choose revit feel bad about themselves.

 

I won't be holding my breath for A.

Barry Kelly
Moderator

Some of the training stuff in the Learn portal is free to all users.

More is free to those that have a Select or Forward agreement with Graphisoft.

 

The other courses that are not free, just imagine you created such in depth resources.

Would you really want to share it with everybody and not recoup any costs at all?

 

Whether the paid courses are too expensive is a matter of perspective.

In the short term, yes they probably do seem expensive.

But when you consider the many years of potential benefits you will gain from them, then probably they are not.

 

Barry.

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This is what I meant, GS should reconsider the price tags policy. Better accessibility conditions would have an impact on the applicants numbers.
 
Second thing, I don't understand why local GS partners get free advanced courses like:
Integrated MEP Design Workflow (archive)
Archicad Open BIM Collaboration (Graphisoft Partner training)
Archicad BIM Workflow (Graphisoft Partner training)
Archicad Documentation (Graphisoft Partner training)
Archicad Scheduling (Graphisoft Partner training)
BIMcloud Expert (Graphisoft Partner training)
Integrated Design - Implementation Guidelines (Graphisoft Partner training)
 
We, ordinary architects  like you and I do not have access to these courses. Access to the above-mentioned courses is available to people who do not work in Archicad on a daily basis, but only sell software. Why? Wasn't it fairer to share access to these course to people (architects) who really need it?
It is unfair.

Am I not talking about it in my post? This is exectly what my post about.

 

But as you wrote above : "if comfort - so choose Archicad and invest in". So why do you hope for better price policy? Just invest in.

@jl_lt @Thank you for good advice, I totally agree with you

 

P.S. And my option is option C.

Pantelis_Ioannidis
Graphisoft
Graphisoft

Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the Graphisoft Learn Program and I am actually glad that the program has sparked such a healthy debate.

 

With the Graphisoft Learn Program, our goal was to create a program that is innovative, modern, flexible and it responds to the learning needs of the current generation. These are the reasons that there are several types of courses, where the users can decide how far they want to go into detail on a subject, there are different delivery types, where the users can decide if they want to learn at their own pace and time or be guided by a trainer, there are shorter/longer, less expensive/more expensive learning paths, where the users can decided how much time and money they want to invest in establishing more efficient processes in their offices.

 

The first bundle, the BIM Author Program was introduced back in July and the first round of delivery was just completed. The next one is starting in January.

 

I am not sure if this is clear to our users, but out of the almost 100 hours of training that the BIM Author Program offers, 10 of those hours are completely free to everyone and an additional 8 hours are free for our Forward/SSA/Select/UAS, etc customers. These free and inclusive training hours are offered in a self-paced mode. The paid offering consists of another 80 hours approximately, of detailed, in-depth training on several subjects with a live trainer, where the users have the ability to ask questions and receive answers on the go.

 

We are very excited about the Graphisoft Learn Program and we have very ambitious plans to offer extensive training for all the roles in a BIM-enabled office, the Modeller, the Coordinator and the Manager.

Dear Ioannidis
Thank you for your answer and I really appreciate your knowledge, you are one of the few at Graphisoft who was a BIM manager before in practice. I'm sure we can learn a lot from you. But..
 
Please pay attention to the main idea of my post.
The point of this wish was that in my opinion the pricing policy is not fair!!!
As I wrote, a Modeler applying for a low-profit position in a small architectural practice has to pay almost the same price for the Model Authoring Bundle as a BIM Manager applying for a more profitable position.
I know that in the Model Authoring Bundle we pay 1199 Euro for 80 hours and in the BIM Manager course we pay 1199 Euro for 40 hours, but that's not what we're talking about, my goal is to draw your attention to the question of whether there can be one course price for a BIM modeler who can earn, say 1000 Euro and the same price for a BIM Manager who can earn 2000 Euro?
If a person has been working in Archicad for some time, it is clear that this person will invest better in the BIM Manager course to apply for a more profitable BIM Manager position. After all, no one checks knowledge before registering for a course. (Please note, I'm not talking about Archicad newbies, they have basic free courses with or without SSA).
 
So that's why I have the impression that Graphisoft has unfair prices for the courses.

@Reinhard Copenraid wrote:
I know that in the Model Authoring Bundle we pay 1199 Euro for 80 hours and in the BIM Manager course we pay 1199 Euro for 40 hours, but that's not what we're talking about, my goal is to draw your attention to the question of whether there can be one course price for a BIM modeler who can earn, say 1000 Euro and the same price for a BIM Manager who can earn 2000 Euro?

So you want Graphisoft to provide twice the content for even less of a cost just because a modeller may earn less than a manager?

Then you can go down the path of a modeller in one country will earn less than a modeller in another, so is it fair that the courses are all the same cost in Euros?

And that is not even taking into account the fluctuating currency conversion rates.

 

Personally I think these and other courses are all a bit overpriced for a worker that wants to do them to improve their own skills for themselves - unless you can look at it as an investment.

Generally you would have a company pay for them, as they would see it as an investment in their workers.

Catch 22 though - you need the skills to get the job in the first place so the company can then invest in you further.

 

Barry.

 

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