A Symfony Training at SensioLabs: Behind The Scenes

Throughout the year, beginners and experienced developers come to Symfony training sessions at SensioLabs, the creator of Symfony. To find out how these sessions work and what participants actually get out of them, we spoke to Guillaume Loulier, developer and trainer at SensioLabs.

💡 One week of training... how does it work?

Hello Guillaume, this week you are running several Symfony 7 training sessions. How are they organized and what kind of participants do you welcome?

Guillaume: From the very beginning, we structured our training sessions in several modules to adapt to the level of each participant. At the start of the week, I gradually brought a group of learners up to speed with the 3-day “Getting Started with Symfony” course, a complete introduction to the framework. We then moved on to the more advanced 2-day “Symfony Master” course, which provides a deeper understanding of key concepts. Some attendees took both in a row: it's the Pack format for a complete approach to Symfony in one week.

I welcome a wide variety of profiles to my training classes. From novice PHP developers discovering Symfony. To more experienced profiles who come to consolidate their skills or refresh their knowledge on new versions of the framework.

In general, Mondays are focused on PHP fundamentals, Tuesdays on Symfony basics, and from Wednesdays on we move on to more advanced concepts with developers who already have some experience with the framework.

🧠 Educational Goals for Learning Progress

What are the teaching objectives of the training course and how do participants develop their skills?

Guillaume: Each session has specific objectives:

• For PHP, we review the fundamentals and consolidate the basics for those who need it.

• For Symfony Start, the goal is twofold: to help beginners get up to speed with the framework, while enabling them to reinforce the skills they have acquired.

• Symfony Master, on the other hand, focuses on advanced concepts, with an emphasis on mastering key features of the framework.

During each training session, I try to adopt an interactive approach, with hands-on exercises and quizzes integrated into the course material. These moments are very important, as they give participants the opportunity to measure their progress and better anchor their learning during the course.

What are the key moments in training, whether face-to-face or online?

Guillaume: Certain topics mark a real turning point in the training. For example, database management with Doctrine often surprises attendees because it introduces advanced concepts that many are discovering for the first time.

In the Symfony Master training, two key points stand out: dependency container management and security with the Security component. These topics require a thorough understanding of the architecture of the framework. These are sometimes complex passages, but they are essential to mastering Symfony in detail.

🎯 Tailor training to meet participants' expectations

What were the participants' main expectations at the beginning of the course, and did they evolve as the sessions progressed?

Guillaume: I'd say that the expectations vary according depending on the level of the participants:

• For those new to PHP, their objective is to get a solid foundation before diving into Symfony.

• Beginners in Symfony want to learn the framework and understand how it works overall.

• More experienced developers are looking to expand their knowledge and discover the new features of Symfony 7.

At the end of the course, the feedback is very positive. Beginners feel comfortable enough to start a Symfony project, and more experienced developers appreciate how it consolidates advanced notions. As the creator of Symfony, our strength lies in our ability to adapt to all levels, including developers with several years of experience with the framework. Every participant will leave the course with new strings to their bow. 

Were there any aspects of Symfony 7 that surprised participants?

Guillaume: Yes, in fact, several things surprised the participants.
One of these is the use of attributes, a new feature in PHP and used in Symfony, which simplifies configuration and adds some “magic” to the framework. Many were amazed to see that previously more complex declarations could now be done very easily thanks to attributes.

Doctrine was also a source of surprise for some, as it completely changes the way the database is managed, especially for those familiar with other approaches.

🔍 And what are the results?

How do you evaluate participants' progress from the beginning to the end of the course?

Guillaume: The evaluation is progressive, especially for those who take the Symfony Pack over five days. Throughout the week, I've noticed a clear increase in skills:

• Beginners gradually gain confidence and are able to handle Symfony independently.

• In the Master course, certain subjects such as the dependency container and forms required more effort, but the participants managed to absorb the key concepts.

At the end of the sessions, do they feel ready to use Symfony 7 in production?

Guillaume: For those who started the course at the beginning of the week, the answer is clearly yes. All the participants told me that they feel ready to start their project on Symfony. It's rewarding to see them getting better and more confident with Symfony.

However, if you want to go into production, you'll need to dig deeper. My advice is to go back to the official documentation after the training and explore the specifics of the code in your own projects. Every project has its own particularities, and it's always very useful to refer back to the documentation.

To anchor learning over time, we also recommend using our e-learning platform SensioLabs University Platform. It enables you to review concepts in detail and practice at your own pace, particularly on the more advanced components, thanks to daily tests. Participants have access to the platform for one month after completion of the training.

🚀 Why learn with SensioLabs?

What are the key benefits of Symfony 7 that attendees have discovered or strengthened this week?

Guillaume: If I had to name just one benefit, I'd say that Symfony 7 offers a smoother, more intuitive configuration. This is largely due to the attributes, which largely replace traditional configuration files. This makes it easier to use and speeds up development. Unfortunately, many developers still don't know how to use it, even though it would make their lives a lot easier.

Why would you recommend these courses to a developer or development team looking to specialize in Symfony?

Guillaume: First of all, these courses allow you to validate what you've already learned and delve deeper into aspects of the framework that are often not covered in production.

Topics like dependency injection with attributes, advanced form management or Twig are sometimes overlooked, even by experienced developers. Simply because they haven't needed them in their project yet. SensioLabs' training courses provide a 360° view of Symfony capabilities, which is essential in the long run. As the creators of Symfony, our team of trainers knows the entire framework inside out, and will find the answers to your questions.

The training course is therefore the ideal opportunity to take the time to explore all these aspects of the framework in detail, and to optimize the use of Symfony in your daily projects.

👉 Want to learn Symfony?

Explore all of our Symfony training courses, designed to support any developer or development team, from beginner to expert. Whether you want to build a solid foundation in Symfony, increase your skills or master the framework's advanced features, our training courses will guide you step-by-step. Check out all the details and contact us directly on the SensioLabs website to register or get more information.

In France, our training courses can be financed by your OPCO or by France Travail. Contact us to find out more. 

🙏Many thanks to Guillaume for sharing his experience!