If it weren’t for a constant influx of knowledgeable network and PC support personnel, business in the UK (and around the world) would surely grind to a halt. There is an ever growing requirement for people to support both the systems and the users themselves. Because we become massively more dependent on advanced technology, we simultaneously find ourselves increasingly dependent on the skilled and qualified networking professionals, who keep the systems going.
Proper support is incredibly important - look for a package offering 24×7 direct access to instructors, as anything else will annoy you and definitely hold up your pace and restrict your intake.
Locate training schools with help available at any time you choose (even if it’s early hours on Sunday morning!) Make sure it’s always 24×7 direct access to mentors and instructors, and not simply some messaging service that means you’re parked in a queue of others waiting to be called back - probably during office hours.
If you look properly, you’ll find the top providers which provide their students direct-access support 24×7 - even in the middle of the night.
Look for a company that goes the extra mile. Only true round-the-clock 24×7 support provides the necessary backup.
An all too common mistake that we encounter all too often is to focus entirely on getting a qualification, and take their eye off where they want to get to. Colleges are brimming over with unaware students who took a course because it seemed fun - rather than what would get them an enjoyable career or job.
You may train for one year and then end up doing the job for 20 years. Don’t make the error of opting for what may seem to be an ‘interesting’ training program and then spend decades in an unrewarding career!
It’s essential to keep your focus on where you want to get to, and create a learning-plan from that - not the other way round. Stay focused on the end-goal - making sure you’re training for something you’ll still be enjoying many years from now.
We’d recommend you seek advice from a professional advisor before making your final decision on some particular study program, so there’s little doubt that the specific package will give the skill-set required for your career choice.
Let’s face it: There really is pretty much no individual job security anywhere now; there’s only industry or business security - companies can just drop any single member of staff if it suits their business interests.
We can however hit upon security at market-level, by digging for high demand areas, tied with work-skill shortages.
The IT skills-gap in the United Kingdom is standing at approximately twenty six percent, according to the most recent e-Skills survey. That means for each four job positions existing across computing, we have only 3 certified professionals to fulfil that role.
This disquieting fact shows the requirement for more appropriately accredited computing professionals in the United Kingdom.
It’s unlikely if a better time or market state of affairs will exist for obtaining certification in this rapidly growing and blossoming industry.
We’re regularly asked to explain why academic qualifications are less in demand than the more commercial qualifications?
Accreditation-based training (as it’s known in the industry) is far more effective and specialised. The IT sector has realised that specialisation is what’s needed to meet the requirements of an acceleratingly technical commercial environment. Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe are the big boys in this field.
Vendor training works by honing in on the skills that are really needed (along with a relevant amount of background knowledge,) as opposed to covering masses of the background non-specific minutiae that academic courses can get bogged down in - to pad out the syllabus.
Just as the old advertisement said: ‘It does what it says on the tin’. Employers simply need to know where they have gaps, and then match up the appropriate exam numbers as a requirement. They’ll know then that all applicants can do what they need.