Embedding a data culture isn’t always a case of hiring more analysts. It is often quicker and more efficient to train up existing analysts to build their skills and improve their productivity.
This article compares top providers of Power BI training in London, explains what to look for in a good course, and shows how employers get return on investment (ROI) when sending staff on advanced Power BI courses.
Top 3 Providers & My Pick
In my view the best providers in London are:
1.Acuity Training
Best for small class sizes, very hands-on courses, excellent instructors and follow-up support. They focus on ready to apply skills not just theory.
2.Firebrand Training
Best for fast Microsoft PL-300 certification on a compressed timeline. Good for reskilling or quickly developing a pool of certified Power BI analysts.
3.QA Ltd
Best for large corporate teams looking for consistent standards across team members.
My top choice for advanced Power BI training in London is Acuity Training because they run a full range of Power BI courses at their London training centre and online, have consistently good feedback over many years, and post-course support.
What Employers Should Value (Key Comparison Variables)
When choosing a Power IB course for staff there are a number of variables that you need to trade off and balance.
- Curriculum Depth:
Advanced Power BI training should cover DAX (measures, time intelligence, context transition), Power Query (ETL, M-language), data modelling (star schema, relationships, performance tuning), dashboards & report publishing.
- Alignment to certification:
Not all organisations require PL-300 certification. If yours does this is clearly a requirement for your provider.
- Instructor quality:
Good trainers will have a combination of teaching experience, real-world practical BI experience and Microsoft certification.
- Hands-on time to practice & class size:
Small cohorts working with real data sets gives the best outcomes. A group of 6 will allow each delegate to learn far more than a group of 20.
- Post-course support:
Access to post course support will help re-inforce course learning and accelerate skills development. What support do they offer?
- Flexibility & delivery mode:
Do they offer in-London classroom sessions, virtual/live online training and private onsite for teams?
- Price. Value and Total Cost:
The fully-loaded cost of a course includes lost productivity for the employees involved and travel costs. Which course offers best value and fastest development when all costs are included?
- Corporate packages and customisation:
Do they have the ability to tailor their schedule and course agenda,to your specific needs and team’s pace?
- Reviews & provider reputation:
Do they have consistently positive customer feedback on third party platforms and plenty of experience of training advanced Power BI.
- Scalability and consistency:
If you are a large company, do they have the capacity to provide consistent training at scale?
How I Chose the Providers
I selected providers who:
- Offer advanced Power BI training in London (not just basics).
- Offer clear course agendas
- Deliver in classroom, online, or private group formats.
- Have good reviews, especially from corporate clients.
- Cover core advanced topics: Power Query transformations, DAX, modelling, report & dashboard publishing, performance optimisation.
From that, I picked the six training providers that I believed were the best: Acuity Training, Firebrand Training, QA Ltd, New Horizons, Global Knowledge, and DataBear.
Profiles of Each Provider
Here are six London-oriented training providers. I describe what they offer, plus three of their pros and cons if you’re an employer.
Acuity Training
Overview:
Acuity Training delivers in-depth Power BI training in London and online. Courses include advanced-level Power Query, DAX, data modelling, report and dashboard development and performance tuning.
They focus on small (6 or fewer) class sizes and experienced trainers and have very strong feedback going back a number of years. They offer post-course support to learners when they are back in the office applying what their learned.
Pros:
- Very hands-on because of the small classes making employees ready to apply their learning as soon as they return to work.
- Experienced trainers with real-world experience.
- Strong reputation and feedback (13 years) reduces risk for payers.
Cons:
- Can be expensive relative to alternative providers.
- Their small classes can mean that they have limited capacity of you are looking for public courses.
- Some learners may find full-day focused courses overload them and benefit from more spaced learning.
DataBear
Overview:
DataBear offers Power BI workshops focused on data modelling, report design, and data storytelling. Their courses are very targeted and, where a private course is booked, use a delegate’s data. Good for teams that have basic Power BI skills and need to level up modelling, optimization, and visual design rather than just certification.
Pros:
- Offers 1 hour phone call for post-course support
- Very practical sessions with real datasets — faster translation to your company’s dashboards.
- Able to tailor their training for private courses.
Cons:
- No public courses in London, only for online courses.
- Do not offer PL-300 certification.
- Not well known although have strong reviews.
Firebrand Training
Overview:
Firebrand delivers accelerated, immersive PL-300 courses. They train the offical Microsoft curriculum and offer a fast route to certification. If your company is looking for certified Power BI data analysts at short notice and spare them for a concentrated block of time.
Pros:
- Formal Microsoft PL-300 certification.
- Trainers are Microsoft Certified.
- Intensive courses mean certification can be achieved very quickly.
Cons:
- The intensity of their course’s may be difficult for people to handle.
- Concentrated delivery makes this a higher cost option and physical courses are residential increasing the cost.
- No provision for post-course support meaning that participants may need internal follow-up or pairing after the course.
Global Knowledge
Overview:
Global Knowledge is an enterprise-scale training provider. They offer standard and Microsoft certified Power BI courses for business and technical users. Their scale means that they a good when you need consistency across multiple employees and offices. They also provide corporate packages and can deliver onsite or virtually.
Pros:
- Good infrastructure for large clients.
- Official Microsoft content.
- Ability to customise or deliver onsite or remote to your team.
Cons:
- Class sizes can be larger reducing individual attention.
- Courses tend to be broad and not focus on specific areas.
New Horizons
Overview:
New Horizons offers a very broad range of IT courses. Their Power BI training runs from beginner through to advanced and includes specific PL-300 preparation courses. Uniquely offer an innovative training subscription.
Pros:
- Flexible delivery modes (onsite, remote, public classroom)
- Microsoft standard materials and alignment to PL-300.
- Training subscription valuable if you intend to purhcase multiple courses for the same individual.
Cons:
- Courses run on US time and so may be inconvenient for Uk employees.
- Relatively expensive as you might expect for a larger provider.
- Strict refund and cancellation terms.
QA Ltd
Overview:
QA Ltd is one of the UK’s largest training providers with a strong presence in London. They run public and corporate Power BI training classes, across all levels. They have a good reputation for delivering Microsoft aligned content.
Pros:
- Scale means they can provide consistent training to large cohorts of employees.
- PL-300 content means their courses offer well recognised credentials.
- Broad choice of class locations anddates including London classroom.
Cons:
- Larger classes may reduce the opportunity to ask questions.
- Some courses fill quickly making organisation challenging for multiple delegates.
- Cost per delegate is higher than smaller providers.
Employer ROI: What’s In It For Your Business
As an employer sending employees on advanced Power BI training in London you want to see practical skills not theoretical knowledge. Your ROI comes from measurable gains in productivity.
Let’s break down ROI by area:
1.Faster report delivery & reduced reworking
Skill employees spend less time debugging and rebuilding broken reports as higher quality work causes fewer maintenance issues.
For example, a team of three analysts might spend 10 hours/month fixing model errors or rewriting inefficient DAX. After advanced training, these hours might drop by 50% saving 5 hours per month. If your business is currently paying a high hourly rate for a contractor the savings can be substantial.
2.Improved data model performance and scalability
Better modelling means faster refresh times and dashboards that can handle larger datasets which in turn allows for more frequent data refreshes and faster decision making.
3.Certification & credibility
If you choose PL-300 training and certification it will improve your employee’s external credibility.
For example, when bidding for a contract it can be helpful to be able to state that all staff are Microsoft certified or similar.
4.Better decision making & organisational insight
Mistakes cost money so reports that easier to read and more readily available will reduce errors. In fast moving industries higher speed of insight = better ability to react to changes and higher profits.
5.Employee retention
Investing in your people is a tangible signal that you value them and reduces employee turnover.
For more details here is an article on the ROI of business intelligence implementations.
Quantitative ROI Example (Employer Perspective)
Let’s look a very conservative example for a mid-sized London firm where they have data analysts who are working beyond their current skill sets:
Sending 3 data analysts on a 3-day advanced Power BI course (cost per delegate ~£1,250 including London classroom venue, materials, etc.) is likely to have a total cost of at last £5,000 upwards. Adding in 9 working days of work at an estimated cost c£3,000 in salary gives a minimum cost of £8,000.
If after training, each analyst saves 4 hours per week from reduced troubleshooting, model repair and inefficient DAX that equates to 12 hours per week across the three or 480 hours across a whole year assuming 40 working weeks.
Their fully loaded hourly cost is likely to be at least £40, giving a saving of £19,200 or a payback of 5 months.
In the event that this reduces external consultants who will cost substantially more than the £40 per hour above the the payback period would be even shorterl.
An employer’s ROI in year one could be 3–4× the upfront training cost not accounting for the additional benefit from staff retention and improved decision-making.
Why Is This Particularly Valuable In London
London tends be home to larger faster paced businesses. This makes the benefits of rapid, accurate data that much greater. London is also home to many Government departments and corporate headquarters both of which have regulatory and reporting requirements that they must comply with.
If you are based in the North of England this review of Manchester’s Power BI providers may be helpful.
Summary
Training costs are real but so are savings in time, reduced consultancy, improved decision-making, and higher staff retention. Well-targetted and planned training often pays for itself in a matter of months.
If you want your company to get real value from advanced Power BI training focus on providers who offer:
- appropriate curriculum,
- expert instructors,
- strong post-training support, and
- certification alignment where required.
I would be happy to be trained by any of these providers but Acuity Training stands out for its balance of depth, feedback/quality, and hands-on approach if I was not looking for PL-300 training. If I was looking for fast Microsoft certification, Firebrand would be my first choice.
