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Computer Training - Networking Explained

July 17th, 2009

If it weren’t for a steady stream of well educated PC and network support staff, commercial enterprise in the United Kingdom (and around the world) would surely be drawn to a standstill. We have an ever growing requirement for technically able people to support both users and the systems they work with. The nation’s requirement for increasing numbers of skilled and qualified individuals grows, as we become consistently more dependent upon computers in the modern world.

Every program under consideration should always lead to a commercially valid accreditation at the finale - not some little ‘in-house’ diploma - fit only for filing away and forgetting. Only nationally recognised examinations from the top companies like Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA and Adobe will have any meaning to employers.

Have a conversation with any expert consultant and you’ll be surprised by their many horror stories of salespeople ripping-off unsuspecting students. Make sure you deal with an experienced industry advisor who digs deep to discover the most appropriate thing for you - not for their retirement-fund! It’s very important to locate the very best place to start for you. With a strong background, or maybe some commercial experience (maybe some existing accreditation?) then it’s likely the level you’ll need to start at will vary from someone who is just starting out. Always consider starting with user-skills and software training first. Beginning there can make the slope up to the higher-levels a much easier going.

It’s clear nowadays: There’s no such thing as individual job security now; there’s only industry or sector security - any company is likely to fire a solitary member of staff whenever it suits the business’ business interests. Whereas a quickly growing market-place, with huge staffing demands (as there is a big shortfall of fully trained people), creates the conditions for real job security.

Offering the IT business as an example, the 2006 e-Skills study highlighted massive skills shortages in the United Kingdom of around 26 percent. To put it another way, this reveals that the United Kingdom only has three properly accredited workers for each 4 positions existing today. Attaining the appropriate commercial computing certification is accordingly a fast-track to succeed in a long-term as well as gratifying career. In actuality, gaining new qualifications in IT throughout the coming years is almost definitely the greatest career move you’ll ever make.

It’s important to understand: a actual training or a qualification isn’t the end-goal; the job or career that you want to end up in is. Too many training companies over-emphasise just the training course. You could be training for only a year and end up doing a job for a lifetime. Avoid the mistake of choosing what sounds like a very ‘interesting’ program and then put 10-20 years into a job you don’t like!

Never let your focus stray from where you want to go, and create a learning-plan from that - avoid getting them back-to-front. Keep your eyes on your goals and ensure that you’re training for a career that will keep you happy for many years. Have a conversation with an experienced industry advisor that has a commercial understanding of the realities faced in the industry, and could provide a detailed run-down of the kind of things you’ll be doing on a daily basis. Contemplating this before starting out on a retraining path will prevent a lot of wasted time and effort.

A successful training program will incorporate Microsoft (or key company) exam preparation systems. As the majority of examining boards for IT are American, you need to become familiar with their phraseology. You can’t practice properly by simply answering any old technical questions - it’s essential that you can cope with them in the proper exam format. Ensure that you test your knowledge by doing quizzes and practice in simulated exam environments to prepare you for taking the proper exam.

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