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Today, most companies could not function efficiently without the help of support workers solving problems with networks and computers, while making recommendations to users on a constant basis. Whereupon we become massively more beholden to technology, we in turn become more dependent on the well trained IT networkers, who maintain those systems.

Picking up on the sheer volume of talk on the area of Information Technology (IT) nowadays, how is it possible to understand what in particular to look for?

Don’t put too much store, as can often be the case, on the training process. Training is not an end in itself; you’re training to become commercially employable. Stay focused on what it is you want to achieve. Avoid becoming part of the group who set off on a track that on the surface appears interesting – and end up with a certification for a job they hate.

Get to grips with the income level you aspire to and how ambitious you are. Usually, this will point the way to what accreditations you will need and what you can expect to give industry in return. We’d recommend you always seek guidance and advice from an experienced professional before embarking on a learning path, so there’s no doubt that the content of a learning package provides the skills for the job being sought.

Be watchful that any exams you’re studying for will be recognised by employers and are up-to-date. The ‘in-house’ certifications provided by many companies are usually worthless. If your certification doesn’t come from a big-hitter like Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA or Adobe, then you’ll probably find it will be commercially useless – because it won’t give an employer any directly-useable skills.

At the top of your shopping list for a training program should be full 24×7 support from dedicated instructors and mentors. It’s an all too common story to find providers that only provide support to you inside of office hours (typically 9am-6pm) and sometimes a little earlier or later (but not weekends usually). Many only provide email support (too slow), and telephone support is usually to a call-centre that will just take down the issue and email it over to their technical team – who’ll call back sometime over the next 1-3 days, at a time suitable for them. This is not a lot of use if you’re sitting there confused over an issue and only have certain times available in which to do your studies.

Top training providers utilise an online access 24×7 system involving many support centres across the globe. You will be provided with a single, easy-to-use interface that seamlessly accesses whichever office is appropriate no matter what time of day it is: Support available as-and-when you want it. If you opt for less than direct-access 24×7 support, you’ll very quickly realise that you’ve made a mistake. You may not need it throughout the night, but consider weekends, evenings and early mornings at some point.

We can guess that you probably enjoy fairly practical work – the ‘hands-on’ person. Usually, the trial of reading reference books and manuals is something you’ll make yourself do if you have to, but you’d hate it. So look for on-screen interactive learning packages if you’d really rather not use books. Research into the way we learn shows that long term memory is improved when we use all our senses, and we take action to use what we’ve learned.

You can now study via interactive CD and DVD ROM’s. Real-world classes from the instructors will mean you’ll find things easier to remember via their teaching and demonstrations. Then it’s time to test your knowledge by utilising the practice lab’s and modules. Be sure to get a training material demonstration from any training college. You should ask for demo’s from instructors, slideshows and interactive labs where you get to practice.

Choose CD or DVD ROM based materials where possible. You’re then protected from internet connection failure and issues with signal quality.

Adding in the cost of exam fees with the course fee then giving it ‘Exam Guarantee’ status is common for a number of training colleges. However, let’s consider what’s really going on:

You’re paying for it by some means. You can be assured it’s not a freebie – they’ve just worked it into the package price. If you want to qualify first ‘go’, then the most successful route is to avoid exam guarantees and pay when entering exams, give it the necessary attention and apply yourself as required.

Hold on to your money and pay for the exam at the time, and hang on to your cash. You also get more choice of where you take your exam – so you can find somewhere local. Buying a course that includes payments for examination fees (and interest charges if you’re borrowing money) is bad financial management. Don’t line companies bank accounts with your money simply to help their cash-flow! There are those who hope that you won’t get round to taking them – so they don’t need to pay for them. The majority of companies will insist that you take mock exams first and not allow you to re-take an exam until you’ve demonstrated an excellent ability to pass – so an ‘Exam Guarantee’ comes with many clauses in reality.

On average, exams cost about 112 pounds last year via Prometric or VUE centres around the United Kingdom. So why pay hundreds or thousands of pounds extra for ‘an Exam Guarantee’, when it’s obvious that the responsible approach is a regular, committed, study programme, with an accredited exam preparation system.

Commercial certification is now, undoubtedly, taking over from the more academic tracks into the industry – so why should this be? With the costs of academic degree’s climbing ever higher, plus the IT sector’s recognition that accreditation-based training often has more relevance in the commercial field, we have seen a big surge in Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe certified training routes that create knowledgeable employees for considerably less. Essentially, students are simply taught the necessary specifics in depth. It’s slightly more broad than that, but the principle remains that students need to master the precisely demanded skill-sets (alongside some required background) – without trying to cram in everything else (as degree courses are known to do).

As long as an employer is aware what they’re looking for, then they just need to look for a person with the appropriate exam numbers. Vendor-based syllabuses are all based on the same criteria and aren’t allowed to deviate (like academia frequently can and does).

Does job security truly exist anywhere now? In the UK for example, where industry can change its mind at alarming speeds, it seems increasingly unlikely. Security only exists now in a swiftly increasing marketplace, pushed forward by a lack of trained workers. It’s this shortage that creates the correct background for a higher level of market-security – a more attractive situation all round.

A recent British e-Skills analysis showed that 26 percent of computing and IT jobs cannot be filled mainly due to a huge deficit of trained staff. Essentially, we can’t properly place more than just 3 out of each four job positions in the computer industry. Attaining proper commercial computer certification is consequently an effective route to a long-lasting as well as pleasing profession. Surely, it really is a critical time for retraining into Information Technology (IT).

There are four specialised areas of training in the A+ syllabus, of which you need to pass two to be considered A+ qualified. However restricting yourself to two out of the 4 subjects available might well not equip you for a job. Try to cover all four – this will give you the edge in the working environment.

As well as being taught about building and fixing computers, trainees on an A+ training course will be shown how to operate in antistatic conditions, as well as diagnostics, fault-finding and remote access. In addition, you could look to think about adding the CompTIA Network+ training as it will enable you to take care of computer networks, and become a more senior IT professional.

Being aware of so much discussion covering computing technology these days, how do we know what in particular to look for?

Trainees hoping to start a career in computers and technology usually haven’t a clue which route is best, or even what sector to build their qualifications around. As with no solid background in computing, how can most of us be expected to understand what a particular job actually consists of? To work through this, we need to discuss several different aspects:

* Personality plays a starring role – what things get your juices flowing, and what tasks ruin your day.

* What time-frame are you looking at for the retraining?

* What are your thoughts on job satisfaction vs salary?

* Understanding what the normal Information technology roles and markets are – and what differentiates them.

* You need to understand what differentiates each individual training area.

For most people, sifting through all these ideas requires a good chat with a professional who knows what they’re talking about. And we’re not only talking about the accreditations – but the commercial needs and expectations of the market as well.

Many trainers provide piles of reference manuals and workbooks. This can be very boring and not a very good way of achieving retention. If we’re able to get all of our senses involved in our learning, our results will often be quite spectacular.

Study programs now come on CD and DVD discs, where everything is taught on your PC. Using video-streaming, you can watch instructors demonstrating how to do something, with some practice time to follow – with interactive lab sessions. All companies must be able to demonstrate some simple examples of the type of training materials they provide. You should hope for instructor-led videos and a variety of interactive modules.

Some companies only have access to purely on-line training; while you can get away with this much of the time, consider what happens if your access to the internet is broken or you get a slow connection speed. It’s much safer to rely on DVD or CD discs which don’t suffer from these broadband issues.

Of all the important things to consider, one of the most essential is always full 24×7 support via expert mentors and instructors. So many companies we come across will only offer a basic 9am till 6pm support period (maybe later on certain days) with very little availability over the weekend. Try and find training where you can receive help at all hours of the day and night (even if it’s early hours on Sunday morning!) Make sure it’s always direct access to tutors, and not a call-centre that will take messages so you’re constantly waiting for a call-back at a convenient time for them.

Top training companies incorporate three or four individual support centres from around the world. They use an online interactive interface to seamlessly link them all, at any time you choose, there is always help at hand, avoiding all the delays and problems. Seek out a training provider that offers this level of study support. As only 24×7 round-the-clock live support provides the necessary backup.

Be alert that all certifications you’re studying for will be recognised by employers and are bang up to date. The ‘in-house’ certifications provided by many companies are not normally useful in gaining employment. Unless your qualification is issued by a major player like Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA or Adobe, then chances are it will be commercially useless – because it won’t give an employer any directly-useable skills.

You’ll come across courses which guarantee examination passes – they always involve paying for the exam fees up-front, when you pay for the rest of your course. Before you jump at this so-called guarantee, be aware of the facts:

Everyone knows they’re still footing the bill for it – it’s quite obvious to see that it’s already in the overall price charged by the course provider. It’s definitely not free – don’t think these companies are so generous with their money! The fact is that when students fund each progressive exam, one at a time, they’ll be in a better position to pass first time – because they’re aware of their investment in themselves and so will prepare more thoroughly.

Find the best exam deal or offer available when you take the exam, and avoid college mark-up fees. In addition, it’s then your choice where to take your exam – so you can find somewhere local. Paying in advance for examination fees (which also includes interest if you’ve taken out a loan) is a false economy. Why fill a company’s coffers with extra money of yours just to give them more interest! Some will be pinning their hopes on the fact that you will never make it to exams – then they’ll keep the extra money. Most companies will insist on pre-tests and hold you back from re-takes until you’ve demonstrated an excellent ability to pass – so an ‘Exam Guarantee’ comes with many clauses in reality.

Paying maybe a thousand pounds extra on ‘Exam Guarantees’ is remiss – when hard work, commitment and the right preparation via exam simulations is what will get you through.

Many people question why traditional degrees are less in demand than the more commercial certificates? With an ever-increasing technical demand on resources, industry has had to move to specialist courses only available through the vendors themselves – that is companies like Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe. This frequently provides reductions in both cost and time. In a nutshell, only required knowledge is taught. Actually, it’s not quite as pared down as that, but the most important function is always to concentrate on the fundamentally important skill-sets (with some necessary background) – without overdoing the detail in every other area – in the way that academic establishments often do.

Think about if you were the employer – and you needed to take on someone with a very particular skill-set. What is easier: Trawl through loads of academic qualifications from several applicants, asking for course details and what vocational skills they have, or pick out specific commercial accreditations that exactly fulfil your criteria, and draw up from that who you want to speak to. Your interviews are then about personal suitability – instead of long discussions on technical suitability.

Doing your bit in revolutionary new technology gives you the best job satisfaction ever. You personally play your part in shaping the next few decades. Society largely thinks that the increase in technology that’s been a familiar part of our recent lives is lowering its pace. There is no truth in this at all. Massive changes are on the horizon, and the internet significantly will become an increasingly dominant part of our lives.

If money is way up on your wish list, you’ll welcome the news that the income on average for the majority of IT staff is much better than salaries in other market sectors. Experts agree that there’s a great country-wide demand for certified IT specialists. In addition, with the constant growth in the marketplace, it seems there’s going to be for a good while yet.