What kind of things do you expect the top of the range Microsoft accredited suppliers to offer a client in Britain in this day and age? Undoubtedly, the most supreme Gold Partner training tracks certified by Microsoft, offering a portfolio of courses to take you into different areas of the IT industry.
You’ll want to consider all the options with somebody who is on familiar terms with the commercial needs of the market, and has the ability to guide you towards the best kind of work to suit your abilities and character.
When you’ve chosen the job you’d like to get into, a relevant course has to be selected that’s suits your needs. This should be personalised for you.
One useful service that several companies offer is a Job Placement Assistance program. This is to assist your search for your first position. With the growing skills shortage in the United Kingdom today, it’s not necessary to make too much of this option though. It’s not as difficult as you may be led to believe to land employment once you’re properly qualified.
Help with your CV and interview techniques might be provided (if not, see one of our sites for help). Ensure you work on your old CV straight away – not after you’ve qualified!
Many junior support roles have been bagged by students who are still learning and haven’t got any qualifications yet. At the very least this will get you on your way.
The most reliable organisations to get you a new position are generally local IT focused employment agencies. As they will get paid by the employer when they’ve placed you, they have more incentive to get on with it.
Fundamentally, if you put the same amount of effort into landing your first job as into training, you won’t have any problems. Some trainees inexplicably conscientiously work through their training course and just give up once they’ve passed their exams and appear to be under the impression that jobs will come to them.
Of all the important things to consider, one of the most essential is always full 24×7 support with dedicated instructors and mentors. Too many companies will only offer a basic 9am till 6pm support period (maybe later on certain days) with very little availability over the weekend.
You’ll be waiting ages for an answer with email based support, and so-called telephone support is normally just routed to a call-centre who will take the information and email an instructor – who will attempt to call you within 24-48 hrs, when it suits them. This isn’t a lot of good if you’re lost and confused and only have certain times available in which to do your studies.
The best training colleges tend to use an online access round-the-clock facility utilising a variety of support centres throughout multiple time-zones. You’re offered a single, easy-to-use environment that seamlessly selects the best facility available any time of the day or night: Support when it’s needed.
Look for a training provider that is worth purchasing from. As only live 24×7 round-the-clock support gives you the confidence to make it.
Beginning from the viewpoint that we have to home-in on the area of most interest first, before we can even mull over which training program fulfils our needs, how are we supposed to find the way that suits us?
How likely is it for us to understand the many facets of a particular career when we’ve never done it? Maybe we don’t know someone who is in that area at all.
To get through to the essence of this, a discussion is necessary, covering many unique issues:
* What nature of person you consider yourself to be – the tasks that you find interesting, and don’t forget – what you hate to do.
* Are you hoping to re-train for a certain raison d’etre – for example, is it your goal to work based from home (being your own boss?)?
* The income requirements that are important to you?
* Always think in-depth about the time expected to gain all the necessary accreditation.
* It makes sense to understand what differentiates the myriad of training options.
For most people, considering these areas requires a good chat with an advisor who has direct industry experience. And not just the certifications – but the commercial requirements of the market as well.
You should remember: a actual training or an accreditation is not the ultimate goal; a job that you want is. Many trainers unfortunately put too much weight in the actual accreditation.
Students often train for a single year but end up performing the job-role for decades. Ensure you avoid the fatal error of taking what may be an ‘interesting’ training program and then spend decades in a job you don’t like!
Never let your focus stray from where you want to get to, and formulate your training based on that – avoid getting them back-to-front. Keep your eyes on your goals and begin studying for a career that will keep you happy for many years.
Obtain help from an industry professional who ‘gets’ the commercial realities of the area you’re interested in, and who can give you ‘A typical day in the life of’ outline of of what you’ll be doing day-to-day. It makes good sense to discover if this is the right course of action for you well before you embark on your training program. There’s really no point in beginning your training only to realise you’ve made a huge mistake.
(C) 2009. Look at LearningLolly.com for in-depth advice on Expression Studio 2 and LearningLolly CBT.
