Well Done! By reading this you’ve doubtless been pondering on re-training to work in a different industry – that means you’ve already taken one more step than the majority. Less of us than you’d think are satisfied with our careers, but it’s rare anyone does more than moan. So, why not be one of the few who actually do something about it.
When considering retraining, it’s important that you first make a list of what you DO want and DON’T want from the job you would like to get. Be sure that you would be more satisfied before you put a lot of energy into taking a new turn. We recommend looking at the whole story first, to steer clear of regrets:
* Do you see yourself dealing with people? Is that as part of a team or with a lot of new people? Possibly operating on your own in a task-based situation could suit you better?
* What thoughts are fundamentally important regarding the industry you’re looking to get into?
* Is it important that this should be the last time you will need more qualifications?
* Is it important for your study to be in an area where you know your chances of gainful employment are high up to retirement age?
The biggest industry in Great Britain that fulfils the above criteria is Information Technology. There’s a demand for more knowledgeable people in this market, just check out any jobs website and you will find them yourself. Don’t misunderstand and think it’s full of techie geeks gazing towards theirscreens all the time – it’s much more diverse than that. Large numbers of workers in the computer industry are just like the rest of us, and they have very interesting and well paid jobs.
You’ll come across courses which guarantee examination passes – this always means you have to pay for the exams when you pay for the rest of your course. However, prior to embracing guaranteed exams, be aware of the facts:
We all know that we’re ultimately paying for it – it’s quite obvious to see that it’s been inserted into the overall price charged by the training company. It’s absolutely not free (although some people will believe anything the marketing companies think up these days!)
The fact is that when trainees fund each progressive exam, at the time of taking them, they’ll be in a better position to qualify each time – as they’ll think of their payment and will therefore apply themselves appropriately.
Take your exams somewhere local and find the best exam deal or offer available then.
A great deal of money is secured by a significant number of organisations that take the exam money up-front. For various reasons, many students don’t take their exams but no refunds are given. Believe it or not, there are providers that depend on students not taking their exams – as that’s how they make a lot of their profit.
Additionally, many exam guarantees are worthless. The majority of companies won’t pay for you to re-take until you’re able to demonstrate an excellent mock pass rate.
Exams taken at VUE and Prometric centres are currently clocking in at an average of 112 pounds in the UK. Why pay exorbitant charges for ‘Exam Guarantees’ (most often hidden in the package) – when the best course materials, the right level of support and exam preparation systems and a dose of commitment and effort are what’s required.
The old fashioned style of teaching, utilising reference manuals and books, is often a huge slog for most of us. If this describes you, dig around for more practical courses that are multimedia based.
We see a huge improvement in memory retention when we use multiple senses – this has been an accepted fact in expert circles for decades now.
Courses are now available via DVD-ROM discs, where your computer becomes the centre of your learning. Utilising the latest video technology, you can watch instructors demonstrating how to perform the required skill, and then have a go at it yourself – via the interactive virtual lab’s.
Be sure to get a study material demo’ from the training company. You’ll want to see expert-led demonstrations, slideshows and lab’s for you to practice your skills in.
Opt for disc based courseware (On CD or DVD) where possible. This then avoids all the potential pitfalls with broadband ‘downtime’ or slow-speeds.
We can all agree: There really is very little evidence of individual job security now; there can only be market or sector security – companies can just drop any single member of staff whenever it suits their business requirements.
We can however locate market-level security, by probing for areas of high demand, coupled with a lack of qualified workers.
Taking the computing sector for example, a key e-Skills study showed massive skills shortages across the UK of over 26 percent. To explain it in a different way, this highlights that the UK can only find three qualified staff for each 4 job positions available at the moment.
This single reality in itself is the backbone of why the UK is in need of a lot more workers to get trained and become part of the IT industry.
Actually, seeking in-depth commercial IT training as you progress through the years to come is very likely the safest career direction you could choose.
A lot of commercial training providers only give office hours or extended office hours support; It’s rare to find someone who offers late evening or full weekend cover.
Many only provide email support (too slow), and so-called telephone support is normally just routed to a call-centre who will chat nicely with you for 5 minutes to ask what the issue is and then simply send an email to an instructor – who will then call back sometime over the next 24hrs, when it suits them. This is no good if you’re stuck and can’t continue and have a one hour time-slot in which to study.
Top training providers provide an online round-the-clock facility utilising a variety of support centres throughout multiple time-zones. You will have a single, easy-to-use interface that accesses the most appropriate office irrespective of the time of day: Support available as-and-when you want it.
Find a company that offers this level of study support. As only true 24×7 round-the-clock live support truly delivers for technical programs.
Consider only learning programmes which progress to industry accepted certifications. There are way too many small colleges offering ‘in-house’ certificates which will prove unusable in today’s commercial market.
Only nationally recognised qualifications from the major players like Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco and Adobe will open the doors to employers.
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