If we didn’t have a regular deluge of knowledgeable network and computer support workers, commerce in the UK (and around the world) would inevitably be drawn to a standstill. There is an on-going requirement for technically able people to support systems and users alike. Our requirement for better skilled and qualified individuals multiplies, as human beings become significantly more beholden to PC’s in these modern times.

How can we go about making a good decision then? With all this potential, we’ll need to know where to be looking – and what we should be searching for.

A ridiculously large number of organisations only look at the plaque to hang on your wall, and completely miss the reasons for getting there – getting yourself a new job or career. Your focus should start with the end goal – don’t get hung-up on the training vehicle. It’s a sad testimony to the sales skills of many companies, but the majority of trainees begin programs that seem spectacular in the marketing materials, but which deliver a career which doesn’t satisfy. Try talking to typical college students for a real eye-opener. It’s a good idea to understand the expectations of your industry. Which particular accreditations you’ll be required to have and how you’ll go about getting some commercial experience. It’s definitely worth spending time thinking about how far you think you’ll want to progress your career as it will often present a very specific set of exams. Always seek guidance and advice from a skilled advisor, even if you have to pay – it’s much safer and cheaper to find out at the start whether your choices are appropriate, instead of discovering following two years of study that you aren’t going to enjoy the job you’ve chosen and have to return to the start of another program.

You should only consider learning programmes that move onto industry approved qualifications. There are far too many trainers promoting unknown ‘in-house’ certificates that are essentially useless when you start your job-search. From an employer’s viewpoint, only top businesses such as Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA or Cisco (as an example) provide enough commercial weight. Anything less won’t make the grade.

Traditional teaching in classrooms, involving piles of reference textbooks, is usually pretty hard going. If this describes you, dig around for more practical courses which have a majority of interactive, multimedia parts. Where possible, if we can get all of our senses involved in our learning, then the results are usually dramatically better. Locate a program where you’ll receive a selection of DVD-ROM’s – you’ll learn by watching video tutorials and demonstrations, and be able to practice your skills in interactive lab’s. All companies must be pushed to demo some samples of the type of training materials they provide. Make sure you encounter videos of instructor-led classes and many interactive sections. You’ll find that many companies will only provide online training only; while you can get away with this much of the time, consider how you’ll deal with it if your access to the internet is broken or you get intermittent problems and speed issues. It’s much safer to rely on physical CD or DVD discs that don’t suffer from these broadband issues.

There is no way of over emphasising this: You have to get round-the-clock 24×7 professional support from mentors and instructors. We can tell you that you’ll strongly regret it if you don’t follow this rule rigidly. Locate training schools where you can access help at all hours of the day and night (no matter if it’s in the middle of the night on a weekend!) You’ll need direct-access to qualified mentors and tutors and not a message system as this will slow you down – constantly waiting for a call-back during office hours. The best training colleges opt for an internet-based round-the-clock system involving many support centres from around the world. You’re offered a simple environment that accesses the most appropriate office irrespective of the time of day: Support available as-and-when you want it. Find an educator that is worth purchasing from. Only proper live 24×7 round-the-clock support delivers what is required.

Consider the points below very carefully if you think the sales ploy of examination guarantees seems like a good idea: Everyone knows they’re ultimately paying for it – it’s not so hard to see that it’s already been included in the overall figure from the course provider. Certainly, it’s not a freebie – don’t think these companies are so generous with their money! Students who go in for their examinations when it’s appropriate, paying for them just before taking them are in a much stronger position to qualify at the first attempt. They are thoughtful of what they’ve paid and prepare more appropriately to be ready for the task. Don’t you think it’s more sensible to go for the best offer when you’re ready, not to pay any mark-up to a training course provider, and to take it closer to home – instead of the remote centre that’s convenient only to the trainer? A surprising number of questionable training companies secure a great deal of profit through charging for exams at the start of the course then cashing in if they’re not all taken. The majority of companies will require you to sit pre-tests and with-hold subsequent exam entries from you until you have proved to them you have a good chance of passing – making an ‘exam guarantee’ just about worthless. Exams taken at local centres are approximately 112 pounds in Great Britain. Why spend so much more on ‘Exam Guarantee’ costs (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) – when good quality study materials, the proper support and commitment, effort and practice with quality exam preparation systems are the factors that really get you through.

A question; why might we choose qualifications from the commercial sector instead of familiar academic qualifications taught at schools, colleges or universities? With 3 and 4 year academic degree costs climbing ever higher, alongside the industry’s increasing awareness that vendor-based training is often far more commercially relevant, we have seen a great increase in Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe based training programmes that provide key skills to an employee at a far reduced cost both money and time wise. Academic courses, as a example, clog up the training with vast amounts of loosely associated study – with a syllabus that’s far too wide. This prevents a student from learning the core essentials in sufficient depth. Just as the old advertisement said: ‘It does what it says on the tin’. The company just needs to know where they have gaps and then match up the appropriate exam numbers as a requirement. Then they’re assured that a potential employee can do exactly what’s required.

Massive developments are coming via technology over the next few decades – and the industry becomes more ground-breaking every year. It’s a common misapprehension that the increase in technology we’ve been going through is cooling down. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are huge changes to come, and the internet in particular will become an increasingly dominant part of our lives. Should lifestyle be around the top on your goal sheet, then you’ll welcome the news that the regular income of a typical IT worker is much higher than salaries in other market sectors. Experts agree that there’s a great UK-wide search for certified IT specialists. In addition as the industry constantly develops, it is likely this pattern will continue for a good while yet.

No great accomplishment has ever been achieved without planning. When Sir Edmund Hillary conquered Mount Everest, he wasn’t out for a stroll and all of a sudden found himself at the summit! To make a change to your life you have to plan to make the change or it won’t happen.

The most successful students on any study programme are those who set themselves realistic, achievable goals to get them from A to B. Goals, or targets that stretch you somewhat are vital for consistent effort. Even if the end result falls short of the planned criteria, it’s a likely bet that you’ll be much closer to success than you’d have been without them.

Make a personal contract based on the following 5 D’s to immerse yourself in the positive outcome of your studies. This contract should be written down, and signed.

DEFINE exactly what you expect to get from your efforts, in terms of possessions, income, lifestyle etc. Make a collage of pictures that reflects these things, and look at them regularly (e.g. before your study sessions). The more specifically you define what you want, the better.

DESIRE. Explore your emotions for this one, and dig deep to discover why your studies are important. Is it to prove to yourself or others that you are an achiever, and that you deserve better things? Perhaps you want more control in your life, or maybe it’s a personal challenge.

DEDICATION (the commitment) How much time will you spend studying each week and when? Put it on a calendar, in a diary, or on the fridge! You’ve made an appointment with yourself to fulfil your future, so keep it; it’s really important to put specific time aside to study. Let the people in your life know when that is, so they won’t expect you to do other things at that time (just as they don’t when you go to your job). Psychologically you’ll also find it much easier on yourself if you do this. It means when you’re relaxing you won’t be feeling guilty that you’re not studying, and when you’re studying you won’t be feeling you’re missing out on some other activity.

DETERMINATION. Having a contract with yourself will make you more determined to stick with the programme. You’re the one who will lose out most if you give up on yourself.

DISCIPLINE (to overcome the hard times) – The resolve to work around challenges and not allow them to stop you achieving your goals.

Your contract is a working document designed to assist and strengthen you through the change in your life. Keep it close by, and take time to look at it regularly. Add inspiring thoughts and ideas to it that will keep you on track and spur you on. The more emotionally involved you get with the results of completing your course, the sooner you’ll get through it. Expectation of good things, along with planning and goal-setting, have proven time after time to bring the desired results to fruition.

How many times do frustrated parents correct their kids, only to be told ‘I know that’ by their half-listening offspring? Every mum and dad in that position knows the message hasn’t got through; the child obviously neither knows nor cares, and nothing of value has been learned.

To really get to grips with a subject, it’s vital to always be receptive and open-minded. It’s a common observation that the more you learn, the more you realise how much you don’t know – it’s a sobering thought that every single person in the world knows more about something than you do! This isn’t said to make you feel small, but simply to encourage a thirst for knowledge, rather than being a closed book.

Mentally assuming ‘I know’ is a directive to our inner consciousness that all is well, and there is nothing more to be learned about a subject. Adopting such an ‘ignorance is bliss’ type attitude is hardly conducive to learning and study, as our depth of understanding will always remain shallow.

Going through lessons just to say we’ve done them will achieve nothing if we’re convinced that we know it all. Mentally, the gate is locked, and so new material will go straight over our heads, as if it wasn’t actually there at all. A closed mind won’t even recognise knowledge when it’s presented.

Some people learn new things every year, whereas others just experience the same thing year after year. To get more out of life (and learning), adopt a child-like, inquisitive attitude. That way you’ll see things that others miss, and add more depth and breadth to your personality.

There’s no shame in repeating a topic several times to really get to grips with a subject. Every time you open-mindedly look again at something you already know, you’ll find new titbits of discovery. Think about a film you’ve enjoyed. When you watch it for the second time, you notice more sub-plots, and you pick up on key pieces of dialogue that have more meaning now.

It’s possible that what we thought we knew, wasn’t actually correct in the first place! Only by having an open mind can we look objectively at information, and assess whether we need to re-adjust our thinking to gain true understanding. This takes considerable mental flexibility.

We’ve evolved as a race by being open to new ideas – remember there was a time when people ‘knew’ the world was flat! Steadfastly sticking to an ‘I know’ attitude means we’re at the peak of our ability to learn. Open the floodgates, and there’s no telling how clever we could become…

Having a structured study programme makes all the difference to the amount and degree of knowledge we can retain. The order of study is vital for long-term retention. Stepped, incremental education establishes frames of reference to build on and add knowledge to. By learning the basics and fundamental principles first, students can build on this stable foundation. Understanding why something works the way it does helps to frame meaning into what you learn.

The most sophisticated modern structured learning takes into account the natural ways that people absorb information. For most of us, looking at words alone is a less than effective medium. Our brainpower is used up processing letters on a page into meaning, as we have to read, process and remember all at the same time.

Fortunately, gone are the days when the only way we could research information was via the written word, and we were subjected to a ‘one size fits all’ type of instruction. It’s well understood that our learning receptors are visual, auditory and kinesthetic. We look and see things; hear and listen to things, and touch, feel and sense things. By stimulating each of those senses when teaching a subject, the student absorbs and retains information at a much deeper level.

By incorporating watching and listening to demonstrations, then having a go yourself to practice and commit the work to memory via repetition, interactive learning is a method of study repetition and cycling that lines up neuron tracks in the brain, which strengthens the capacity for recall.

In the same way that a pony can trek for many miles without a guide because he’s done it so many times before, so students can establish excellent recall through repetition. Another useful tip is to use patterns for remembering by the use of rhymes, mnemonics and mentally visualising pictures.

It’s also essential to define what you want, why you want it, and when you want it by. Display photos around your study area of what you want to achieve. This reinforces the message not only to you, but also to those around you, and it helps you to stay committed. Structured studying requires goal planning.

Know how to deal with mental blocks when you get stuck (See our article ‘What Do I Do When I get Stuck in My Studies?’) Schedule a study diary, with days, times and study breaks, and a tick off list to show your learning progress.

The premium interactive training courses are specifically designed for the student to learn in the most user-friendly, productive manner. All the trainee needs is consistency and a willingness to learn. Everything is in place for a progressive, retentive learning experience that will serve the student well throughout his or her career.

This question isn’t a new one; for as long as people have lived on earth, it’s been around. Many great philosophers throughout history have spent time looking at what holds us back – at that part of our psyche that stops us from achieving a great life.

Over the years it’s been referred to as different things, but today we can simply call it fear. Basically it’s an instinct designed to keep us from harm. You’ve no doubt heard of the ‘fight or flight’ response, an essential reaction for the early human race. Essentially, it’s what makes us jump when someone says BOO!

Everybody has a comfort zone, and we like to live our lives within that zone. When we step out of it, we quickly get an adrenaline rush that equips us to fight or run away. Our natural reaction is to run and get back into our comfort zone immediately. We log what happened mentally as it was very uncomfortable and our brain remembers not to repeat that experience again.

But sabre tooth tigers are not really a threat to us these days, and most fear is in our heads. FEAR could be descibed as False Evidence Appearing Real. Even though the vast majority of the time the worst doesn’t happen, we’re brilliant at imagining that it will. By contrast, hardly any of us ever imagine the best that could happen, yet the few who do visualise their success are much more likely to achieve it.

Society has been encouraging fear for years. Ruling leaders, both political and religious, have used fear as a tool to keep control over the ages, keeping society in line. When you were little, your mum probably used it on more than one occasion! The truth is, we have a choice – between feeling the fear and do it anyway, or whimpering back and staying average.

If you want to change some things in your life you have to change some things in your life – that might sound ridiculous, but in fact what it’s really saying is no problem can be solved with the same level of thinking that caused it. Any improvement you want to make will involve change.

Anything significant enough to make a worthy change is bound to involve doing something different, which will take you out of your comfort zone. It therefore stands to reason that you’ll feel uncomfortable about what you need to do. Those who stay average avoid change because ‘it doesn’t feel right’. Those who move on in life know it’s going to feel uncomfortable, but work through that and do it anyway.

By making small changes that are outside your comfort zone, that zone gradually gets larger as you start to build up your confidence. Make a list of the positives and negatives of anything you do – looking objectively at something helps you to break down your fear.

Don’t let your fears and doubts deny you the good things in life. William Shakespeare said, “Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.