With such a large selection of computer courses on offer these days, take the time to seek out a company who can guide you on the right one for you. Professional companies will talk thoroughly through the various career options that may be a match for you, prior to deciding on a computer course that will train you for where you want to go. Training ranges from Microsoft User Skills to Networking, Programming, Databases and Web Design. There’s a lot to choose from and so the chances are you’ll want to have a conversation with an experienced advisor before you make your final decision: it would be awful to learn about a subject for something that doesn’t suit you!
By minimising their overheads, training companies now exist with contemporary courses that have great quality training and assistance for considerably less money than is charged by old-school colleges. A key training course package will undoubtedly also offer accredited exam preparation packages. Don’t go for training programs depending on non-accredited preparation materials for exams. The terminology of their questions is sometimes startlingly different – and this could lead to potential problems when it comes to taking the real exam. Ensure that you check your depth of understanding by doing quizzes and mock ups of exams prior to taking the proper exam.
Typically, a new trainee will not know to ask about something that can make a profound difference to their results – how their training provider breaks up the training materials, and into how many parts. Usually, you will purchase a course staged over 2 or 3 years and receive a module at a time. This sounds logical on one level, until you consider this: What could you expect if you didn’t actually complete every module at the speed they required? Often the prescribed exam order won’t fit you as well as some other order of studying might.
In a perfect world, you’d get ALL the training materials right at the beginning – giving you them all for the future to come back to – at any time you choose. This also allows you to vary the order in which you complete your exams as and when something more intuitive seems right for you.
We’d all like to believe that our jobs will always be secure and the future is protected, but the growing likelihood for most sectors throughout England at the moment is that there is no security anymore. We’re able though to hit upon market-level security, by probing for high demand areas, mixed with shortages of trained staff.
The IT skills shortage in the country clocks in at over 26 percent, as shown by the most recent e-Skills study. Meaning that for every 4 jobs that are available around Information Technology (IT), there are only 3 trained people to perform that task. This one truth alone underpins why Great Britain desperately needs a lot more workers to get trained and enter the IT sector. We can’t imagine if a better time or market state of affairs is ever likely to exist for getting certified in this hugely growing and evolving sector.
The somewhat scary thought of securing your first computer related job is often eased by training colleges, through a Job Placement Assistance programme. Because of the great need for more IT skills in the UK at the moment, it’s not too important to place too much emphasis on this feature however. It’s actually not as hard as some people make out to get your first job as long as you’ve got the necessary skills and qualifications.
Bring your CV up to date as soon as possible however – look to your training company for advice on how to do this. Don’t put it off until you’ve qualified. It’s not unusual to find that you’ll secure your initial job whilst you’re still studying (occasionally right at the beginning). If your course details aren’t on your CV (and it’s not being looked at by employers) then you’re not even going to be known about! Generally, you’ll receive quicker service from a specialist independent regional employment service than you’ll experience from any training course provider’s national service, as they will understand the local industry and employment needs.
Just make sure you don’t conscientiously work through your course materials, and then do nothing more and expect somebody else to land you a job. Stand up for yourself and start looking for yourself. Put as much time and energy into landing your new role as it took to pass the exams.
