by Scott Edwards
What might you expect the best training companies certified by Microsoft to give a student in Britain in this day and age? Undoubtedly, the ultimate in Microsoft certified training tracks, presenting a range of courses to lead you into a selection of professions with IT. Maybe you’d like to talk to industry experts, who could help you sort out whereabouts in industry would be best, and what sort of duties are a good match for someone with your abilities and personal preferences. Once you’ve decided on your career path, your next search is for a relevant course tailored to your needs. The standard of teaching should leave no room for complaints.
Obviously, the computing market promises impressive prospects. Yet, to investigate it properly, what are the questions we should raise, and which are the sectors we need to investigate?
A ridiculously large number of organisations only look at the plaque to hang on your wall, and forget the reasons for getting there - getting yourself a new job or career. Always start with the final destination in mind - too many people focus on the journey. Imagine training for just one year and then end up doing the actual job for 10-20 years. Avoid the mistake of finding what seems like an ‘interesting’ training program only to spend 20 years doing something you don’t even enjoy! You also need to know your leanings around earning potential, career development, and how ambitious you are. It’s vital to know what (if any) sacrifices you’ll need to make for a particular role, which particular certifications are required and in what way you can develop commercial experience. Before setting out on a learning programme, you’d be well advised to discuss specific career needs with an experienced industry professional, in order to be sure the retraining program covers all that is required.
Be watchful that any certifications you’re studying for will be recognised by employers and are the most recent versions. ‘In-house’ certificates are not normally useful in gaining employment. Unless the accreditation comes from a major player like Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA or Cisco, then you’ll probably find it will have been a waste of time - because it won’t give an employer any directly-useable skills.
Most training companies will only provide support available from 9-6 (office hours) and sometimes later on specific days; It’s rare to find someone who offers late evening or full weekend cover. Never accept training that only supports trainees via a call-centre messaging system after 6-9pm in the evening and during weekends. Training schools will give you every excuse in the book why you don’t need this. Essentially - support is needed when it’s needed - not at times when they find it cheaper to provide it. The most successful trainers have many support offices active in different time-zones. They use an online interactive interface to seamlessly link them all together; any time of the day or night - help is at hand without any contact issues or hassle. Don’t ever make the mistake of taking second best with the quality of your support. The majority of trainees who can’t get going properly, are in that situation because they didn’t get the support necessary for them.
If you’re like many of the students we talk to then you probably enjoy fairly practical work - the ‘hands-on’ individual. Typically, the painful task of reading endless manuals would be considered as a last resort, but it doesn’t suit your way of doing things. You should use video and multimedia based materials if book-based learning really isn’t your style. Long-term memory is enhanced with an involvement of all our senses - this has been an accepted fact in expert circles for years now. The latest audio-visual interactive programs with demonstrations and practice sessions beat books hands-down. And you’ll find them fun and interesting. Every company that you look at should be able to show you a few examples of their training materials. You should hope for instructor-led videos and a variety of interactive modules. Pick disc based courseware (On CD or DVD) every time. Thus avoiding all the issues associated with internet connection failure and issues with signal quality.
A subtle way that training providers make extra profits is via an ‘exam inclusive’ package and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams. It looks impressive, but is it really… It’s very clear we’re still paying for it - it’s not so hard 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! For those who want to pass first time, you must pay for one exam at a time, give it the necessary attention and apply yourself as required. Why pay a training course provider up-front for exam fees? Find the best deal you can at the appropriate time, instead of paying any mark-up - and take it closer to home - instead of miles away at the college’s beck and call. What’s the point in paying early for exam fees when you don’t need to? A great deal of money is made because training colleges are charging all their exam fees up-front - and hoping either that you won’t take them, or it will be a long time before you do. Many training companies will insist on pre-tests and with-hold subsequent exam entries from you until you’ve proven conclusively that you can pass - which makes an ‘Exam Guarantee’ frankly useless. Exams taken at VUE and Prometric centres are currently clocking in at an average of 112 pounds in the UK. Why pay exorbitant ‘Exam Guarantee’ costs (usually wrapped up in the course package price) - when a quality course, support and consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is what will really see you through.
What is the reason why qualifications from colleges and universities are now falling behind more commercial qualifications? With the costs of academic degree’s becoming a tall order for many, plus the industry’s recognition that corporate based study is closer to the mark commercially, we have seen a large rise in CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA authorised training courses that supply key solutions to a student at a far reduced cost both money and time wise. In essence, students are simply taught the necessary specifics in depth. It’s not quite as straightforward as that, but the most important function is always to focus on the exact skills required (including a degree of required background) - without overdoing the detail in all sorts of other things (as universities often do). Imagine if you were an employer - and you wanted someone who could provide a specific set of skills. What is easier: Wade your way through a mass of different academic qualifications from hopeful applicants, having to ask what each has covered and what trade skills they’ve mastered, or choose a specific set of accreditations that perfectly fit your needs, and make your short-list from that. The interview is then more about the person and how they’ll fit in - rather than on the depth of their technical knowledge.
Discovering job security these days is very rare. Companies can throw us out of the workforce at the drop of a hat - as long as it fits their needs. Whereas a marketplace with high growth, where staff are in constant demand (due to a big shortfall of properly qualified staff), provides a market for proper job security. Taking the IT industry as an example, the most recent e-Skills investigation highlighted massive skills shortages throughout the United Kingdom around the 26 percent mark. Meaning that for each four job positions that exist in the computer industry, there are only 3 trained people to perform that task. Attaining proper commercial computer accreditation is accordingly a ‘Fast Track’ to realise a continuing as well as gratifying line of work. Because the IT sector is evolving at such a rate, could there honestly be a better market worth looking at for your new career.
About the Author:
The author: Scott Edwards has worked in IT for 3 Decades. He now advises on training and accreditation. To investigate
IT Courses, visit LearningLolly
Computer Training.