If we didn't have a continuous flood of well educated network and computer support workers, commerce in the United Kingdom (as elsewhere) could well grind to a halt. Therefore, there's a huge requirement for technicians to support both the systems and the users themselves. Industry's need for larger numbers of skilled and qualified individuals multiplies, as human beings become ever more dependent on PC's in these modern times.

Exam 'guarantees' are sometimes offered as part of a training package - this always means exams have to be paid for upfront, at the very beginning of your studies. Before you jump at the chance of a guarantee, be aware of the facts:

You'll be charged for it one way or another. It certainly isn't free - it's simply been shoe-horned into the price as a whole. Should you seriously need to get a first time pass, you must pay for one exam at a time, focus on it intently and apply yourself as required.

Don't you think it's more sensible to go for the best offer at the time, not to pay the fees marked up by a training course provider, and to do it locally - instead of miles away at the college's beck and call? Many current training colleges make a great deal of profit through getting in the money for all the exam fees up-front then banking on the fact that many won't be taken. In addition to this, 'Exam Guarantees' often aren't worth the paper they're written on. The majority of companies won't pay for you to re-take until you have demonstrated conclusively that you won't fail again.

Prometric and VUE exams are approximately 112 pounds in the UK. Why pay exorbitant 'Exam Guarantee' fees (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) - when the best course materials, the right level of support and exam preparation systems and a dose of commitment and effort are what's required.

People attracted to this sort of work are usually quite practically-minded, and don't always take well to classrooms, and endless reading of dry academic textbooks. If this could be you, go for more modern interactive training, with on-screen demonstrations and labs. Memory is vastly improved when all our senses are brought into the mix - this has been an accepted fact in expert circles for many years.

Modern training can now be done at home via self-contained CD or DVD materials. Instructor-led tutorials will mean you'll find things easier to remember through their teaching and demonstrations. Knowledge can then be tested by practicing and interacting with the software. Each company you're contemplating must be able to demonstrate a few samples of the materials provided for study. Expect video tutorials, instructor led classes and a variety of interactive modules.

You'll find that many companies will only provide training that is purely available online; while you can get away with this much of the time, consider how you'll deal with it when you don't have access to the internet or you get intermittent problems and speed issues. It's preferable to have CD and DVD ROM materials that don't suffer from these broadband issues.

Be careful that the exams that you're considering will be commercially viable and are current. Training companies own certificates are usually worthless. Unless the accreditation comes from a conglomerate such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Adobe, then you may discover it will have been a waste of time - as it'll be an unknown commodity.

Now, why ought we to be looking at qualifications from the commercial sector as opposed to the usual academic qualifications taught at tech' colleges and universities? Industry now recognises that to cover the necessary commercial skill-sets, certified accreditation from such organisations as Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe is closer to the mark commercially - saving time and money. Academic courses, for instance, become confusing because of too much loosely associated study - with a syllabus that's far too wide. This prevents a student from learning the core essentials in sufficient depth.

It's rather like the advert: 'It does what it says on the label'. All an employer has to do is know where they have gaps, and then request applicants with the correct exam numbers. Then they're assured that a potential employee can do exactly what's required.

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