Saturday, September 26, 2009

CompTIA A Plus Retraining In The UK - News

By Jason Kendall

There are four A+ exams and sections to study, but you only have to achieve certification in two to qualify for your A+. For this reason, the majority of training providers stick to just two options. But allowing you to learn about all 4 options will give you a more confident perspective of the subject, something you'll discover is vital in the working environment.

Qualifying in CompTIA A+ on its own will give you the ability to repair and fix stand-alone PC's and MAC's; ones which are usually not part of a network - which is for the most part the home market.

Should you want to work towards being responsible for networks of computers, you'll need to add CompTIA Network+ to your training package. This qualification will prepare you to command a more senior job role. You may also want to consider the route to networking via Microsoft, in the form of MCP's, MCSA or the full MCSE.

We can all agree: There really is very little evidence of individual job security available anymore; there can only be market or business security - a company will let anyone go whenever it fits the business' trade requirements.

Where there are escalating skills deficits together with growing demand though, we often find a fresh type of market-security; driven by the constant growth conditions, businesses are struggling to hire the influx of staff needed.

Using the Information Technology (IT) sector for example, the 2006 e-Skills analysis highlighted a skills deficit in Great Britain in excess of 26 percent. Essentially, we only have the national capacity to fill just three out of every 4 jobs in the computer industry.

Accomplishing in-depth commercial IT accreditation is consequently a 'Fast Track' to achieve a life-long and rewarding profession.

For sure, now, more than ever, really is a critical time for retraining into the IT industry.

Many trainers will provide a useful Job Placement Assistance service, to help you into your first commercial role. With the huge skills shortage in Great Britain today, it's not too important to place too much emphasis on this feature however. It's not as difficult as you may be led to believe to get your first job as long as you've got the necessary skills and qualifications.

Work on polishing up your CV right away however (advice can be sought on this via your provider). Don't wait till the exams have actually been passed.

You'll often find that you'll secure your initial position whilst you're still studying (even when you've just left first base). If you haven't updated your CV to say what you're studying (and it isn't in the hands of someone with jobs to offer) then you're not even going to be known about!

In many cases, an independent and specialised local employment service (who will, of course, be keen to place you to receive their commission) should get better results than any sector of a centralised training facility. In addition, they will no doubt know the local industry and employment needs.

Just be sure that you don't spend hundreds of hours on your training and studies, only to stop and leave it up to everyone else to sort out your employment. Get off your backside and make your own enquiries. Put the same energy and enthusiasm into getting the right position as you did to gain the skills.

We'd hazard a guess that you're a practical sort of person - a 'hands-on' type. If you're like us, the unfortunate chore of reading reference guides can be just about bared when essential, but it doesn't suit your way of doing things. Consider interactive, multimedia study if books just don't do it for you.

We see a huge improvement in memory retention when we use multiple senses - educational experts have expounded on this for years now.

Locate a program where you'll receive a selection of CD and DVD based materials - you'll begin by watching videos of instructors demonstrating the skills, and then have the opportunity to use virtual lab's to practice your new skills.

You'll definitely want a demonstration of the study materials from the training company. The package should contain instructor videos, demonstrations, slide-shows and interactive labs where you get to practice.

Often, companies will only use online training only; and although this is okay the majority of the time, consider how you'll deal with it when you don't have access to the internet or you only get very a very slow connection sometimes. It's much safer to rely on DVD or CD discs that removes the issue entirely.

There are colossal changes flooding technology over the next generation - and this means greater innovations all the time.

Computing technology and connections through the internet will noticeably affect our lifestyles over future years; profoundly so.

Let's not ignore salaries moreover - the income on average in the UK for an average person working in IT is noticeably better than remuneration packages in other sectors. It's likely you'll make a much better deal than you'd expect to earn doing other work.

The requirement for properly certified IT professionals is assured for quite some time to come, due to the continuous expansion in the marketplace and the huge shortage that we still have.

'Exam Guarantees' are often bundled with training offers - this always means exams have to be paid for upfront, at the start of your training. Before you jump at a course with such a promise, why not look at the following:

You're paying for it one way or another. You can be assured it's not a freebie - they've just worked it into the package price.

If it's important to you to pass in one, you must fund each exam as you take it, give it the priority it deserves and be ready for the task.

Do your exams as locally as possible and hold on to your money and pay for the exam when you take it.

Paying in advance for exam fees (and if you're financing your study there'll be interest on that) is bad financial management. Why fill a company's coffers with your hard-earned cash just to give them a good cash-flow! There are those who hope that you will never make it to exams - then they'll keep the extra money.

It's worth noting that exam re-takes through organisations with an 'Exam Guarantee' are monitored with tight restrictions. They'll insist that you take mock exams first until you've proven that you're likely to pass.

Exam fees averaged approximately 112 pounds in the last 12 months when taken at UK VUE or Prometric centres. So why pay hundreds or thousands of pounds extra to get 'Exam Guarantees', when any student knows that the responsible approach is a regular, committed, study programme, with an accredited exam preparation system.

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