Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Computer Training And Study Companies - Update

By Jason Kendall

Well Done! As you're looking at this you're probably toying with the idea of getting re-qualified for a new job - that puts you way ahead of the crowd. Only one in ten of us are satisfied with our careers, but most complain but just stay there. Why not be one of a small number who decide to make the change.

We recommend you seek advice first - find someone who knows the industry; an advisor who can discover your ideal job, and analyse the courses you may be suited to:

* Do you want to interact with other people? If you say yes, are you a team player or are you hoping to meet new people? Or are you better working in isolation?

* Do you have a preference which area you could be employed in? (In this economy, it's vital to get it right.)

* Having completed your retraining, would you like your new abilities to take you through to retirement?

* Are you worried with regard to the possibility of getting new work, and being gainfully employed right up to retirement?

The most significant market sector in Great Britain to tick all of the above boxes is the IT industry. There's a need for more skilled people in this market, - take a look at any jobs website and you'll discover what we mean. Don't let people tell you it's all techie people looking at their computerscreens all day long - it's much more diverse than that. Most of the people in the industry are just like you and me, with well paid and stimulating jobs.

Traditional teaching in classrooms, with books and manuals, can be pretty hard going sometimes. If this describes you, check out study materials which feature interactive and multimedia modules. Research has consistently verified that an 'involved' approach to study, where we utilise all our senses, is proven to produce longer-lasting and deeper memory retention.

Fully interactive motion videos utilising video demo's and practice lab's will forever turn you away from traditional book study. And they're a lot more fun to do. Be sure to get a look at some courseware examples from the training company. You should ask for slide-shows, instructor-led videos and virtual practice lab's for your new skills.

Purely on-line training should be avoided. Ideally, you should opt for CD and DVD ROM courseware where available, enabling them to be used at your convenience - it's not wise to be held hostage to your broadband being 'up' 100 percent of the time.

Most people don't even think to ask about a painfully important area - how their company actually breaks down and delivers the courseware sections, and into how many bits. Individual deliveries for each training module piece by piece, according to your own speed is the normal way of receiving your courseware. This sounds logical, but you must understand the following: What could you expect if you didn't actually complete everything at the required speed? Sometimes their preference of study order doesn't work as well as an alternative path could be.

An ideal situation would be to have all the training materials packed off to you immediately; the complete package! Then, nothing can hinder your capacity to get everything done.

One fatal mistake that students everywhere can make is to choose a career based on a course, rather than starting with the desired end-result. Colleges have thousands of unaware students who chose a course based on what sounded good - in place of something that could gain them the career they desired. It's quite usual, in many cases, to obtain tremendous satisfaction from a year of studying but end up spending 10 or 20 years in a career that does nothing for you, as a consequence of not performing some quality research at the beginning.

Make sure you investigate how you feel about career development, earning potential, and whether you intend to be quite ambitious. You need to know what (if any) sacrifices you'll need to make for a particular role, what qualifications are needed and in what way you can develop commercial experience. You'd also need help from an advisor that can explain the market you're considering, and who can give you 'A typical day in the life of' outline of the job being considered. These things are absolutely essential as you'll need to know if you're barking up the wrong tree.

Huge changes are coming via technology over the next generation - and it only gets more exciting every day. Computing technology and interaction through the internet is going to dramatically affect the direction of our lives over future years; to a vast degree.

Let's not forget that the average salary in the IT sector in Great Britain is noticeably more than average salaries nationally, therefore you will most likely receive significantly more once qualified in IT, than you'd get in most other industries. Because the IT market sector is still emerging at an unprecedented rate, the chances are that the requirement for professionally qualified and skilled IT workers will continue actively for quite some time to come.

Finding your first job in the industry can be a little easier with the help of a Job Placement Assistance service. The honest truth is that it isn't so complicated as you might think to land your first job - as long as you've got the necessary skills and qualifications; because there's still a great need for IT skills in the UK today.

One important thing though, avoid waiting until you have completed your exams before polishing up your CV. Right at the beginning of your training, list what you're working on and place it on jobsites! It can happen that you haven't even got to the exam time when you will get your initial junior support role; although this isn't going to happen if interviewers don't get sight of your CV. Generally, a local IT focused recruitment consultant or service (who will get paid by the employer when they've placed you) will perform better than any recruitment division from a training organisation. They should, of course, also know local industry and the area better.

Not inconsiderable numbers of trainees, it seems, invest a great deal of time on their training course (sometimes for years), and just give up when it comes to looking for a job. Introduce yourself... Do everything you can to put yourself out there. A job isn't just going to bump into you.

About the Author:

0 comments:

Post a Comment