Autodesk Assistance Programme for unemployed

Recognising the impact of today’s economic challenges and the need for unemployed architects, designers and engineers to maintain and develop their skills to stay competitive, Autodesk is launching the Autodesk Assistance Programme.

The programme will provide design software tools, education and resources to help redundant professionals enhance and progress their 3D design technology abilities. It offers free* student software term licences enabling participants to experience the latest product releases, free online training plus reduced cost formal training and certification.

““The economic downturn has affected almost everyone, including large parts of design, engineering and construction industries,” says Pete Baxter, senior director, Autodesk Northern Europe. “Autodesk has a tradition of supporting the needs of its customers and the Assistance Programme is a fast-track route for industry professionals to keep up with new developments, use their time constructively to prepare for when the economy improves and significantly increase their chances of re-employment in the short term”.
Autodesk Assistance Programme tools and resources will be made available through an online portal (www.autodesk.co.uk/assistance), where users can access:

Free software licence: Any 13-month term student licence of selected Autodesk solutions including AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit Architecture, Autodesk Inventor Professional, AutoCAD Civil 3D, 3DS Max and more. Available as an online download only.

• Free online training: On-demand training available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week provided online.
• Reduced-cost classroom training: Many Autodesk Authorised Training Centre (ATC) partners are offering classroom training at their training facilities either free or at a significantly reduced fee. Classes and fees are subject to scheduling and availability.
• Certification: Certification preparation and exams are available at discounted rates through Autodesk Authorised Certification Centres.
• Free access to Autodesk University Online, a web portal with more than 1,000 recorded sessions.

The Autodesk Assistance Programme is available until 31 March 2010 and is open to anyone who has worked in the architecture, engineering, design or manufacturing industry but is currently unemployed. Those eligible should visit www.autodesk.co.uk/assistance to register and click on the ‘Training’ tab to locate their nearest Authorised Training Centre and Certification Centre.

Autodesk currently also provides training and online resources to end users through Autodesk University Online (AU Online), Autodesk User Group International (AUGI), various online industry communities and the Autodesk YouTube Channel.

*Free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user licence agreement that accompanies download of the software.