Computer and network support technicians are constantly sought after in Great Britain, as organisations are becoming more reliant upon their knowledge and skills. Whereupon our society becomes growingly beholden to our PC\’s, we simultaneously inevitably become more reliant on the commercially qualified network engineers, who maintain those systems.

One thing you must always insist on is proper direct-access 24×7 support via dedicated instructors and mentors. Far too often we see trainers who only provide support to you inside of office hours (typically 9am-6pm) and sometimes a little earlier or later (but not weekends usually).

Look for training with proper support available at all hours of the day and night (irrespective of whether it\’s the wee hours on Sunday morning!) Ensure you get direct access to tutors, and not simply some messaging service that means you\’re constantly waiting for a call-back during office hours.

Be on the lookout for study programmes that have multiple support offices active in different time-zones. Each one should be integrated to provide a single interface and also round-the-clock access, when you need it, with no fuss.

Never make do with less than you need and deserve. Direct-access round-the-clock support is the only way to go with computer-based training. Maybe burning the midnight-oil is not your thing; but for most of us, we\’re at work while the support is live.

People attracted to this sort of work are often very practical, and won\’t enjoy sitting at a desk in class, and slogging through piles of books. If this could be you, go for more modern interactive training, where you can learn everything on-screen.

If we\’re able to utilise all of our senses into our learning, our results will often be quite spectacular.

Learning is now available on CD and DVD discs, so everything is learned directly from your own PC. Utilising the latest video technology, you will be able to see the instructor presenting exactly how something is done, and then have a go at it yourself – via the interactive virtual lab\’s.

It\’s very important to see the type of training provided by any company that you may want to train through. Be sure that they contain instructor-led video demonstrations with virtual practice-lab\’s.

It\’s usually bad advice to select online only courseware. With highly variable reliability and quality from most broadband providers, ensure that you have access to physical media such as CD or DVD ROM\’s.

A capable and professional advisor (as opposed to a salesman) will ask questions and seek to comprehend your current level of ability and experience. There is no other way of understanding your study start-point.

With a bit of real-world experience or some accreditation, your starting-point of learning is not the same as someone new to the industry.

For students starting IT studies and exams as a new venture, it can be helpful to start out slowly, kicking off with some basic PC skills training first. This can be built into most training packages.

Watch out that all exams you\’re studying for are recognised by industry and are bang up to date. The \’in-house\’ certifications provided by many companies are often meaningless.

The top IT companies such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Adobe or Cisco each have globally approved skills programs. These heavyweights will ensure your employability.

(C) Jason Kendall. Look at LearningLolly.com for superb advice. Network+ Training Courses or Comptia Networking Courses.