Training For PC User Skills – An Analysis
It's really great that you've made it this far! Just ten percent of people say they enjoy their work, but the majority just bitch about it and nothi...
It’s really great that you’ve made it this far! Just ten percent of people say they enjoy their work, but the majority just bitch about it and nothing happens. By looking for this we have a hunch that you’re giving retraining some thought, so you’ve already stood out from the crowd. Now you just need to research and follow-through.
Prior to considering specific training programs, look for an advisor who will be able to guide you on which area will be right for you. An advisor who will take time to get an understanding of your personality, and discover what type of job will be right for you:
* Do you operate better working alone or is being part of a team an essential criteria for you?
* What’s important that you get from your chosen industry? (If it’s stability you’re after, you might think twice about banks or the building industry right now.)
* Is this the final time you want to study, and based on that, do you believe this career choice will give you scope to do that?
* Would it be useful for your training course to be in a market sector where as far as you can see your chances of gainful employment are high until your pension kicks in?
It’s important that you consider the IT sector – it’s well known that it is one of the few growth sectors. IT isn’t all techie people looking at computer screens the whole time – of course those roles do exist, but the majority of roles are done by people like you and me who are earning rather well.
One useful service offered by some training providers is a Job Placement Assistance program. This is designed to help you find your first job in the industry. Because of the massive need for more IT skills in Great Britain right now, there’s no need to place too much emphasis on this feature however. It isn’t so complicated as you might think to land the right work once you’re trained and certified.
Nevertheless, don’t wait till you’ve passed your final exams before getting your CV updated. As soon as you start studying, enter details of your study programme and place it on jobsites!
Many junior support jobs have been bagged by students who are still learning and have yet to take their exams. At least this will get your CV into the ‘possible’ pile and not the ‘no’ pile.
Generally, you’ll receive better results from a specialist independent regional employment service than you’ll get from a training course provider’s recruitment division, because they’ll know the local area and commercial needs better.
Certainly ensure you don’t spend hundreds of hours on your training and studies, and then do nothing more and imagine someone else is miraculously going to secure your first position. Get off your backside and get on with the job. Invest as much time and energy into getting your first job as you did to gain the skills.
The best type of training program will have fully authorised simulation materials and exam preparation packages.
Because the majority of examining boards for IT are American, it’s essential to understand how exam questions will be phrased and formatted. It’s not sufficient simply answering any old technical questions – it’s essential that you can cope with them in the proper exam format.
Ensure that you analyse whether you’re learning enough by doing tests and mock ups of exams to get you ready for the proper exam.
Make sure you don’t get caught-up, as many people do, on the certification 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. Stay focused on what it is you want to achieve.
It’s an awful thing, but a great many students start out on programs that sound great in the prospectus, but which provides the end-result of a job that is of no interest at all. Talk to many university leavers and you’ll see where we’re coming from.
Stay tuned-in to what you want to achieve, and formulate your training based on that – avoid getting them back-to-front. Stay focused on the end-goal and ensure that you’re training for something that will keep you happy for many years.
Take advice from an experienced industry advisor, even if you have to pay – it’s much safer and cheaper to investigate at the start if your choices are appropriate, rather than realise after several years of study that you aren’t going to enjoy the job you’ve chosen and have to start from the beginning again.
If you’re like many of the students we talk to then you probably enjoy fairly practical work – a ‘hands-on’ personality type. Usually, the world of book-reading and classrooms would be considered as a last resort, but it’s not ideal. So look for on-screen interactive learning packages if learning from books is not your thing.
Many studies have proved that memory is aided when all our senses are involved, and we get physically involved with the study process.
Locate a program where you’ll receive a library of DVD-ROM’s – you’ll begin by watching videos of instructors demonstrating the skills, followed by the chance to use virtual lab’s to practice your new skills.
All companies should be able to show you some examples of the materials provided for study. You’re looking for evidence of tutorial videos and demonstrations and many interactive sections.
Often, companies will only use just online versions of their training packages; while you can get away with this much of the time, consider what happens when you don’t have access to the internet or you get a slow connection speed. A safer solution is the provision of DVD or CD discs that don’t suffer from these broadband issues.
Author: Scott Edwards. Pop to or .