If we didn't have a constant influx of qualified network and computer support personnel, business throughout the country (as elsewhere) could well be drawn to a standstill. There is a huge requirement for people to support systems and users alike. The need for the above mentioned individuals is consistently on the grow, as everywhere we work becomes significantly more reliant on computers.

An all too common mistake that we encounter all too often is to choose a career based on a course, and take their eye off where they want to get to. Universities are full of students who took a course because it seemed fun - in place of something that could gain them their end-goal of a job they enjoyed. It's possible, in some situations, to thoroughly enjoy one year of training but end up spending 10 or 20 years in something completely unrewarding, simply because you did it without the correct research at the outset.

Make sure you investigate your feelings on earning potential and career progression, and if you're ambitious or not. You should understand what will be expected of you, what particular exams are needed and in what way you can develop commercial experience. Our recommendation would be to seek advice from an experienced industry professional before making your final decision on a training programme, so you can be sure that the specific package will give the skill-set required for your career choice.

Does job security really exist anymore? Here in the UK, where industry can change its mind on a day-to-day basis, we'd question whether it does. Security only exists now through a quickly growing market, driven forward by a lack of trained workers. It's this alone that creates the right environment for a secure marketplace - a far better situation.

A rather worrying British e-Skills survey brought to light that over 26 percent of all IT positions available cannot be filled due to a lack of appropriately certified professionals. Basically, we only have the national capacity to fill three out of 4 positions in Information Technology (IT). Highly qualified and commercially grounded new staff are correspondingly at a resounding premium, and it looks like they will be for a long time to come. As the Information Technology market is developing at such a speed, it's unlikely there's any better market worth investigating for retraining.

One crafty way that training providers make a big mark-up is by charging for exams up-front and offering an exam guarantee. It looks like a good deal, until you think it through:

Of course it isn't free - you're still footing the bill for it - it's just been included in your package price. It's well known in the industry that if students pay for each progressive exam, when they're ready to take them and not before, there's a much better chance they'll pass every time - since they are conscious of their investment in themselves and so will prepare more thoroughly.

Go for the best offer you can find at the time, and avoid college mark-up fees. You'll also be able to choose where to do the examinations - meaning you can choose a local testing centre. Buying a course that includes payments for exams (and interest charges if you're borrowing money) is a false economy. Why fill a company's coffers with your hard-earned cash just to give them a good cash-flow! A lot bank on the fact that you won't get to do them all - but they won't refund the cash. You should fully understand that re-takes through training course providers with an 'Exam Guarantee' are tightly controlled. They will insist that you take pre-tests first till you've proven conclusively that you can pass.

Paying maybe a thousand pounds extra on 'Exam Guarantees' is short-sighted - when hard work, commitment and the right preparation via exam simulations is actually the key to your success.

A key package of training will have fully authorised exam simulation and preparation packages. Students regularly can get confused by going through practice questions that aren't from authorised sources. Often, the question formats and phraseology can be quite different and you should be prepared for this. Always request some practice exams in order to verify your understanding along the way. Simulated or practice exams prepare you properly - then you're much more at ease with the real thing.

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