Were it not for a steady stream of knowledgeable computer and network support workers, commerce in the United Kingdom (and around the world) would surely be brought to its knees. Consequently, there's an ever growing requirement for technicians to support systems and users alike. Due to the progressively multifaceted levels of technological advances, more and more trained staff are being looked for to specialise in the smooth operation of functions we need to be sure will work effectively.

We're regularly asked to explain why academic qualifications are less in demand than the more commercial qualifications? With university education costs spiralling out of control, along with the IT sector's increasing awareness that corporate based study is closer to the mark commercially, there has been a dramatic increase in Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe accredited training courses that educate students at a much reduced cost in terms of money and time. Essentially, the learning just focuses on what's actually required. Actually, it's not quite as pared down as that, but the principle objective is to master the precisely demanded skill-sets (alongside some required background) - without trying to cram in all sorts of other things (as academia often does).

The bottom line is: Accredited IT qualifications provide exactly what an employer needs - it says what you do in the title: i.e. I am a 'Microsoft Certified Professional' in 'Planning and Maintaining a Windows 2003 Infrastructure'. Therefore an employer can identify just what their needs are and which qualifications are required to fulfil that.

One fatal mistake that many potential students make is to concentrate on the course itself, rather than starting with the end result they want to achieve. Training academies are brimming over with unaware students that chose a program because it looked interesting - rather than what would get them the career they desired. It's common, in many cases, to find immense satisfaction in a year of study 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.

Prioritise understanding what industry will expect from you. What particular accreditations you'll need and in what way you can gain some industry experience. Spend some time assessing how far you reckon you're going to want to build your skill-set as often it can affect your choice of exams. Take guidance from a professional advisor, irrespective of whether you have to pay - it's much safer and cheaper to find out at the start whether you've chosen correctly, instead of discovering after 2 years that the job you've chosen is not for you and have wasted years of effort.

Can job security really exist anymore? In a marketplace like the UK, with industry changing its mind whenever it suits, there doesn't seem much chance. It's possible though to discover security at the market sector level, by digging for areas in high demand, mixed with a lack of qualified workers.

The IT skills shortfall around the United Kingdom is standing at roughly twenty six percent, as shown by the most recent e-Skills survey. Accordingly, for every four jobs in existence across Information Technology (IT), employers can only locate enough qualified individuals for three of them. This glaring idea highlights the validity and need for more appropriately trained computing professionals across the United Kingdom. Quite simply, retraining in Information Technology over the coming years is very likely the greatest career choice you could ever make.

It's usual for students to get confused with one aspect of their training usually not even thought about: How the training is broken down and packaged off through the post. You may think it logical (with a typical time scale of 1-3 years to gain full certified status,) for a training company to release the courseware in stages, as you complete each part. Although: What if you find the order offered by the provider doesn't suit. And what if you don't finish all the modules at the speed required?

The ideal solution is to have all the learning modules delivered to your home before you even start; the complete package! This way, nothing can happen down the line which could affect your capacity to get everything done.

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