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As there are a plethora of computer courses on the market today, it’s not always easy to know which ones best. Select one that corresponds with your personal character, and one that is in demand in the commercial world.

Should you be considering improving your computer skills, maybe with some office user skills, or even loftier ambitions, you have lots of courses to choose from.

Currently, there are a variety of easily understood and well priced courses around that provide you with all you require.

A useful feature provided by many trainers is job placement assistance. It’s intention is to help you get your first commercial position. With the huge skills shortage in the UK right now, there isn’t a great need to become overly impressed with this service however. It isn’t such a complex operation to secure the right work once you’re properly qualified.

Ideally you should 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 they start a course – don’t delay for when you’re ready to start work.

It’s not uncommon to find that junior support roles have been offered to students who are in the process of training and have yet to take their exams. This will at the very least get your CV into the ‘possible’ pile and not the ‘no’ pile.

If it’s important to you to find work near your home, then you’ll often find that an independent and specialised local employment service may serve you better than the trainer’s recruitment division, due to the fact that they’re going to have insider knowledge of the jobs that are going locally.

Essentially, if you put the same amount of effort into finding your first job as into studying, you’re not likely to experience problems. A number of people bizarrely spend hundreds of hours on their learning program and just give up once they’ve got certified and would appear to think that businesses will just discover them.

We’re often asked why traditional degrees are being overtaken by more commercial certificates?

As demand increases for knowledge about more and more complex technology, industry has been required to move to the specialised training that the vendors themselves supply – for example companies like Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA. This frequently provides reductions in both cost and time.

The training is effectively done by focusing on the skill-sets required (along with a proportionate degree of related knowledge,) rather than covering masses of the background non-specific minutiae that degrees in computing are prone to get tied up in – to fill a three or four year course.

It’s a bit like the TV advert: ‘It does what it says on the label’. Companies need only to know what areas need to be serviced, and then advertise for someone with the specific certification. That way they can be sure they’re interviewing applicants who can do the job.

Often, trainers provide a bunch of books and manuals. This isn’t very interesting and not ideal for remembering.

We see a huge improvement in memory retention with an involvement of all our senses – educational experts have expounded on this for many years.

Fully interactive motion videos featuring instructor demo’s and practice lab’s beat books hands-down. And they’re a lot more fun to do.

Always insist on a study material demo’ from the training company. You’ll want to see expert-led demonstrations, slideshows and interactive labs where you get to practice.

Avoid training that is purely online. You want physical CD/DVD ROM course materials where possible, 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.

Don’t put too much store, as a lot of students can, on the training course itself. Your training isn’t about getting a plaque on your wall; you should be geared towards the actual job at the end of it. You need to remain focused on where you want to go.

Don’t let yourself become part of that group who select a program that seems ‘fun’ or ‘interesting’ – and end up with a certification for an unrewarding career path.

It’s essential to keep your focus on where you want to get to, and build your study action-plan from that – not the other way round. Stay on target and study for a job that’ll reward you for many long and fruitful years.

Seek out help from a professional advisor that appreciates the market you’re interested in, and is able to give you ‘A typical day in the life of’ understanding of of what you’ll be doing day-to-day. It makes good sense to know if this change is right for you well before you start on any retraining programme. What’s the reason in starting your training and then discover you’re on the wrong course.

(C) Scott Edwards 2010. Navigate to Comptia Certification or www.WebDesignCourse4UK.co.uk.