Were it not for a steady stream of trained network and PC support personnel, business in the UK (and around the world) would inevitably grind to a halt. We have a constantly increasing requirement for men and women with technical ability to support systems and users alike. Our country's need for larger numbers of commercially qualified individuals multiplies, as human beings become vastly more reliant on PC's in today's environment.

Validated exam preparation and simulation materials are crucial - and should definitely be obtained from your training supplier. As the majority of examining boards for IT come from the United States, it's essential to understand how exam questions will be phrased and formatted. It's no use merely going through the right questions - they must be in an exam format that exactly replicates the real thing. Simulated exams can be very useful for confidence building - so that when you come to take the real thing, you don't get phased.

Some training companies will only provide support available from 9-6 (office hours) and sometimes later on specific days; most won't answer after 8-9pm at the latest and frequently never at the weekends. Find a good quality service where you can receive help at any time of day or night (irrespective of whether it's the wee hours on Sunday morning!) You want direct-access to qualified mentors and tutors, and not a message system as this will slow you down - parked in a queue of others waiting to be called back - probably during office hours.

World-class organisations utilise an online access 24x7 facility combining multiple support operations throughout multiple time-zones. You'll have an interface that switches seamlessly to the best choice of centres any time of the day or night: Support when you need it. Always pick a company that cares. Only true live 24x7 support provides the necessary backup.

Trainees looking at this market can be very practical by nature, and won't enjoy sitting at a desk in class, and poring through books and manuals. If you identify with this, try the newer style of interactive study, where you can learn everything on-screen. We see a huge improvement in memory retention when all our senses are brought into the mix - educational experts have expounded on this for decades now.

Search for a course where you'll receive a selection of CD and DVD based materials - you'll start with videos of instructor demonstrations, with the facility to fine-tune your skills in fully interactive practice sessions. Don't take any chances and look at examples of the courseware provided before you sign the purchase order. What you want are instructor demonstrations, video tutorials and a variety of audio-visual and interactive sections.

Often, companies will only use training that is purely available online; while you can get away with this much of the time, think what will happen if internet access is lost or you get slow speeds and down-time etc. It is usually safer to have physical CD or DVD discs which will solve that problem.

The way in which your courseware is broken down for you is often missed by many students. In what way are your training elements sectioned? And in what sequence and at what speed is it delivered? By and large, you'll join a programme taking 1-3 years and receive one element at a time until graduation. It seems to make sense on one level, but consider these issues: What would their reaction be if you find it difficult to do each and every module at the required speed? Sometimes their preference of study order won't be as easy as some other structure would for you.

To be straight, the best option is to obtain their recommendation on the best possible order of study, but to receive all the materials up-front. It's then all yours if you don't manage to finish at their required pace.

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