Computer Training - Networking - Thoughts

In the fast-paced world we live in, support workers who can fix PC's and networks, and give daily help to users, are vital in all areas of the business environment. The need for such qualified and commercially astute members of the workforce is consistently on the grow, as commercial enterprise becomes significantly more dependent upon technology.

The somewhat scary thought of securing your first IT job is often made easier by some training providers because they offer a Job Placement Assistance service. The honest truth is that it's not as hard as some people make out to get your first job - as long as you're correctly trained and certified; the growing UK skills shortage sees to that.

Having said that, it's important to have help and assistance with preparing a CV and getting interviews though; and we'd encourage any student to get their CV updated as soon as training commences - don't wait till you've finished your exams. It's not uncommon to find that junior support roles have been bagged by students who're still on their course and haven't got any qualifications yet. At least this will get you into the 'maybe' pile of CV's - rather than the 'No' pile. Generally, a specialist locally based employment service - who make their money when they've found you a job - will be more pro-active than a division of a training company. They should, of course, also be familiar with the local industry and employment needs.

Not inconsiderable numbers of men and women, so it seems, spend evenings and weekends on their training and studies (sometimes for years), and just give up when it comes to finding the right position. Promote yourself... Do your best to let employers know about you. A job isn't just going to bump into you.

Usually, your normal trainee has no idea where to start with IT, let alone what sector to focus their retraining program on. Therefore, if you've got no experience in the IT sector, how can you expect to know what any qualified IT worker spends their day doing? Let alone decide on which certification program will be most suitable for ultimate success. Generally, the way to deal with this issue in the best manner flows from a full discussion of several different topics:

* What hobbies you have and enjoy - these often show the things you'll get the most enjoyment out of.

* Is it your desire to realise a specific goal - for instance, becoming self-employed someday?

* Where is the salary on a scale of importance - is an increase your main motivator, or is job satisfaction higher up on the priority-scale?

* Learning what typical IT types and markets are - and what differentiates them.

* How much time you'll have available to set aside for getting qualified.

In these situations, you'll find the only real way to research these matters tends to be through a good talk with an advisor that has years of experience in IT (as well as the commercial requirements.)

Many companies only concern themselves with gaining a certificate, and completely miss what you actually need - which is a commercial career or job. Your focus should start with where you want to get to - don't make the journey more important than where you want to get to. It's a terrible situation, but the majority of trainees kick-off study that often sounds great from the marketing materials, but which provides a job that doesn't satisfy. Talk to many university students to see what we mean.

It's a good idea to understand the expectations of your industry. Which particular exams they will want you to have and how you'll build your experience level. It's definitely worth spending time assessing how far you reckon you're going to want to get as it will often affect your choice of qualifications. We advise all students to speak with a professional advisor before deciding on their retraining path. This gives some measure of assurance that it features what is required for the chosen career.

It's quite a normal occurrence for students not to check on something of absolutely vital importance - the way their training provider breaks up the courseware, and into how many parts. Delivery by courier of each element one stage at a time, taking into account your exam passes is the normal way of receiving your courseware. This sounds logical, but you should consider these factors: What if you find the order offered by the provider doesn't suit. And what if you don't finish every element at the speed required?

In an ideal situation, you'd ask for every single material to be delivered immediately - so you'll have them all to come back to in the future - whenever it suits you. Variations can then be made to the order that you complete each objective if another more intuitive route presents itself.