Networking Training In The UK – Which Direction
May 9, 2009 by Jason Kendall
Filed under Online Trainings
People researching courses for the computer or IT industry will notice the number of diverse options available to them. Before embarking on a course, seek out a training provider with a team of advisors, so you can be educated on the career your training will prepare you for. You could uncover career paths you didn’t know about. You can select office skills packages from Microsoft, or more advanced IT professional certifications. Plain speaking courses will help you to realise your dreams.
By maximising state-of-the-art training techniques and getting rid of wasteful procedures, you will start to see a new kind of organisation supplying a better brand of training and mentoring for a fraction of the prices currently charged.
How do we reach the right decisions then? With all these possibilities, we have to know where we should look – and exactly what to be investigating.
If your advisor doesn’t ask you a lot of questions – it’s likely they’re just trying to sell you something. If they wade straight in with a specific product before looking at your personality and whether you have any commercial experience, then you know you’re being sold to. If you’ve got a strong background, or even a touch of work-based experience (some certifications gained previously perhaps?) then it’s likely your starting point will be quite dissimilar from a student that is completely new to the industry. For those students starting IT studies and exams from scratch, it can be helpful to avoid jumping in at the deep-end, by working on some basic Microsoft package and Windows skills first. This is often offered with any study program.
Be careful that the qualifications you’re studying for will be commercially viable and are current. ‘In-house’ exams and the certificates they come with are often meaningless. All the major IT organisations such as Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA or Adobe all have globally renowned proficiency programmes. Huge conglomerates such as these will give some sparkle to your CV.
Full support is of the utmost importance – find a program providing 24×7 full access, as not opting for this kind of support could impede your ability to learn. You’ll be waiting ages for an answer with email based support, and so-called telephone support is normally just routed to a call-centre who will take the information and email an instructor – who will attempt to call you within 24-48 hrs, at a suitable time to them. This is no good if you’re lost and confused and have a one hour time-slot in which to study.
Keep looking and you’ll come across professional training packages that recommend and use online direct access support all the time – at any time of day or night. Always pick an educator that offers this level of study support. As only round-the-clock 24×7 support provides the necessary backup.
We can guess that you’re quite practically minded – the ‘hands-on’ type. Typically, the world of book-reading and classrooms would be considered as a last resort, but it’s not ideal. So look for on-screen interactive learning packages if books just don’t do it for you. Learning psychology studies show that long term memory is improved when we receive multi-sensorial input, and we get physically involved with the study process.
Top of the range study programs now offer self-contained CD or DVD materials. Through instructor-led video classes you’ll take everything in via their teaching and demonstrations. Then it’s time to test your knowledge by practicing and interacting with the software. It’s imperative to see examples of the study materials provided by your chosen company. You’ll want to see that they include full motion videos of instructors demonstrating the topic with lab’s to practice the skills in.
It’s folly to go for purely on-line training. Due to the variable nature of connection quality from your average broadband company, make sure you get physical media such as CD or DVD ROM’s.
‘Exam Guarantees’ are often bundled with training offers – they always involve paying for the exam fees up-front, at the very beginning of your studies. Before you jump at this so-called guarantee, look at the following:
It’s very clear we’re still paying for it – it’s quite obvious to see that it’s been added into the overall figure from the college. It’s definitely not free – and it’s insulting that we’re supposed to think it is! Those who go in for their examinations when it’s appropriate, funding them as they go are in a much stronger position to qualify at the first attempt. They are aware of their investment and so are more inclined to make sure they’re ready.
Go for the best offer you can find at the appropriate time, and avoid college mark-up fees. You’ll also be able to choose where to do the examinations – so you can find somewhere local. Why tie up your cash (or borrow more than you need) for examinations when there was no need to? A great deal of money is made because training colleges are charging upfront for all their exams – and then hoping that you won’t take them all. It’s worth noting, in the majority of cases of ‘exam guarantees’ – you are not in control of when you can re-take the exam. You’ll have to prove conclusively that you can pass before they’ll pay for another exam.
On average, exams cost approximately 112 pounds in the last 12 months through Prometric or VUE centres around the United Kingdom. Therefore, why splash out often many hundreds of pounds extra to have ‘Exam Guarantees’, when it’s obvious that the responsible approach is consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software.
Qualifications from the commercial sector are now, undoubtedly, already replacing the traditional academic paths into the IT sector – but why is this the case? As demand increases for knowledge about more and more complex technology, industry has of necessity moved to specialist courses that the vendors themselves supply – for example companies like CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA. Frequently this is at a far reduced cost both money and time wise. Obviously, a reasonable quantity of closely linked detail needs to be taught, but essential specifics in the required areas gives a vendor trained student a massive advantage.
When an employer understands what they’re looking for, then they just need to look for the particular skill-set required. Commercial syllabuses are all based on the same criteria and don’t change between schools (as academic syllabuses often do).
Finding job security these days is very unusual. Businesses can drop us out of the workforce at a moment’s notice – as and when it suits them. However, a sector experiencing fast growth, where staff are in constant demand (through a massive shortage of commercially certified staff), enables the possibility of true job security.
The Information Technology (IT) skills shortfall throughout the UK falls in at roughly twenty six percent, as reported by the 2006 e-Skills study. To explain it in a different way, this shows that Great Britain can only find 3 certified professionals for each four job positions available now. Gaining in-depth commercial computing qualification is accordingly a quick route to achieve a long-lasting as well as satisfying line of work. Unquestionably, now really is a critical time to retrain into IT.