Networking Training In The UK – News

by Jason Kendall

Today, many workplaces would struggle without assistance from support workers mending PC's and networks, while advising users on a regular basis each week. Because we are getting massively more dependent on advanced technology, we simultaneously emerge as increasingly more reliant upon the technically knowledgeable IT networkers, who maintain those systems.

Think about the points below carefully if you've been persuaded that that over-used sales technique about a guarantee for your exam looks like a reason to buy:

Of course it's not free - you're still paying for it - the cost has just been rolled into the whole training package. Trainees who take exams one at a time, paying as they go are much more likely to pass. They're mindful of their investment and revise more thoroughly to ensure they are ready.

Isn't it in your interests to go for the best offer when you take the exam, not to pay the fees marked up by the training company, and also to sit exams more locally - rather than possibly hours away from your area? A great deal of money is made by many companies that incorporate exam fees into the cost of the course. Many students don't take them for one reason or another and so they pocket the rest. Amazingly, there are companies around that actually bank on it - as that's very profitable for them. It's also worth noting that 'Exam Guarantees' often aren't worth the paper they're written on. The majority of organisations won't be prepared to pay for re-takes until you're able to demonstrate an excellent mock pass rate.

With average prices for VUE and Pro-metric examinations costing in the region of 112 pounds in this country, it's common sense to fund them one by one. There's no sense in throwing away maybe a thousand pounds extra at the start of your studies. Commitment, effort and practice with quality exam preparation systems are the factors that really get you through.

Searching for your first position in IT sometimes feels easier to handle with the help of a Job Placement Assistance service. Having said that, occasionally there is more emphasis than is necessary on this service, for it's really not that difficult for any focused and well taught person to find a job in IT - because there's a great need for trained staff.

You would ideally have advice and support about your CV and interviews though; additionally, we would recommend everyone to bring their CV up to date as soon as training commences - don't wait until you've qualified. It's possible that you won't have even got to the exam time when you land your first junior support role; although this can't and won't happen unless you've posted your CV on job sites. You'll normally experience better performance from an independent and specialised local recruitment consultancy than you'll experience from any training provider's centralised service, as they'll know the area better.

Many trainees, it seems, put a great deal of effort into their studies (sometimes for years), and then just stop instead of finding a good job. Promote yourself... Work hard to get yourself known. Good jobs don't just knock on your door.

The best type of training program should have accredited exam preparation systems. Make sure that the simulated exams are not just posing the correct questions on the correct subjects, but are also posing them in the way the real exams will pose them. This completely unsettles people if the questions are phrased in unfamiliar formats. A way to build self-confidence is if you verify your knowledge by doing quizzes and simulated exams to prepare you for taking the real deal.

Each programme of learning has to build towards a nationally accepted exam as an end-goal - not a useless 'in-house' piece of paper. From the perspective of an employer, only the big-boys like Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Adobe (to give some examples) will get you into the interview seat. Nothing else hits the mark.

A question; why ought we to be looking at commercial qualifications instead of more traditional academic qualifications gained through schools, colleges or universities? With a growing demand for specific technological expertise, industry has moved to the specialised core-skills learning that can only come from the vendors - namely companies such as Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe. Often this saves time and money for the student. They do this by concentrating on the particular skills that are needed (along with an appropriate level of associated knowledge,) instead of going into the heightened depths of background non-specific minutiae that academic courses are prone to get tied up in (because the syllabus is so wide).

Assuming a company knows what areas need to be serviced, then they simply need to advertise for someone with a specific qualification. Vendor-based syllabuses are all based on the same criteria and don't change between schools (like academia frequently can and does).

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