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Finding the right training course to match the needs of industry is essential in today’s economy. However, it’s equally relevant to select a course that you will get on well with, that suits your personality and abilities. Should you be thinking of advancing your technological abilities, perhaps with a Microsoft Office Package, or possibly becoming professionally qualified, you can choose from many training options.

By concentrating on service and delivery, training companies now exist with up-to-the-minute courses that have great quality training and assistance for much lower prices than those expected from the old-school colleges.

Sometimes students presume that the tech college or university route is still the best way into IT. So why is commercial certification slowly and steadily replacing it? Vendor-based training (to use industry-speak) is far more effective and specialised. The IT sector is aware that this level of specialised understanding is vital to service the demands of a technologically complex world. CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA are the big boys in this field. Typically, only that which is required is learned. Actually, it’s not quite as pared down as that, but the principle remains that students need to focus on the exact skills required (alongside some required background) - without overdoing the detail in everything else (as degree courses are known to do).

If an employer understands what they’re looking for, then they just need to look for the particular skill-set required. Commercial syllabuses all have to conform to the same requirements and can’t change from one establishment to the next (in the way that degree courses can).

Beware of putting too much emphasis, as a lot of students can, on the certification itself. Training is not an end in itself; you’re training to become commercially employable. Stay focused on what it is you want to achieve. It’s possible, for example, to get a great deal of enjoyment from a year of study only to end up putting 20 long years into a job you hate, as an upshot of not doing some quality research at the beginning.

It’s essential to keep your focus on what it is you’re trying to achieve, and formulate your training based on that - don’t do it back-to-front. Stay on target and study for a job you’ll enjoy for years to come. You’d also need help from a professional that can best explain the market you’re considering, and will be able to provide ‘A typical day in the life of’ explanation of what you actually do on the job. All of these things are very important because you obviously have to know if this change is right for you.

Let’s face it: There really is no such thing as personal job security available anymore; there’s only industry and business security - any company is likely to drop any single member of staff if it suits their trade interests. However, a fast growing sector, with huge staffing demands (because of a growing shortage of commercially certified professionals), enables the possibility of true job security.

Looking at the computer market, a recent e-Skills investigation brought to light a twenty six percent deficit in trained staff. Quite simply, we can only fill just 3 out of each four job positions in IT. This single idea on its own is the backbone of why Great Britain urgently requires considerably more workers to get trained and enter the Information Technology market. It’s unlikely if a better time or market circumstances will exist for gaining qualification for this quickly emerging and evolving business.

Have a conversation with almost any proficient consultant and they’ll entertain you with many terrible tales of students who’ve been conned by dodgy salespeople. Make sure you deal with an experienced industry advisor who digs deep to uncover the best thing for you - not for their paycheque! Dig until you find an ideal starting-point that fits you. In some circumstances, the training inception point for a trainee with some experience is hugely different to someone without. It’s usual to start with some basic user skills first. Beginning there can make the transition to higher-level learning a much more gentle.

‘Exam Guarantees’ are often bundled with training offers - inevitably that means paying for the exams at the very beginning of your studies. However, prior to embracing guaranteed exams, be aware of the facts:

Everyone knows they’re still paying for it - obviously it has been added into the full cost of the package supplied by the college. It’s definitely not free (although some people will believe anything the marketing companies think up these days!) Trainees who take exams one at a time, funding them one at a time are in a much stronger position to qualify at the first attempt. They are mindful of what they’ve paid and prepare more appropriately to be up to the task.

Find the best exam deal or offer available when you take the exam, and keep hold of your own money. In addition, it’s then your choice where to sit the exam - so you can find somewhere local. Buying a course that includes payments for examination fees (and interest charges if you’re borrowing money) is a false economy. Resist being talked into filling the training company’s account with additional funds only to please their Bank Manager! A lot bank on the fact that you will never make it to exams - then they’ll keep the extra money. Re-takes of previously unsuccessful exams through companies who offer an ‘Exam Guarantee’ are monitored with tight restrictions. They will insist that you take pre-tests first to make sure they think you’re going to pass.

With the average price of Pro-metric and VUE examinations coming in at around 112 pounds in the UK, it makes sense to pay as you go. It’s not in the student’s interests to fork out hundreds or thousands of pounds for exams when enrolling on a course. A commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools are actually the key to your success.