As your research has brought you here it’s possible that you’d like to enter the world of computers and the MCTS Training has reared its head, or you’re already a professional and you know that you need the MCITP certification.
Be sure you check that your provider is definitely teaching with the latest level of Microsoft development. Many trainees have come unstuck when they discover they’ve been educated in an outdated version which now needs updating. A computer training organisation’s attention should primarily be on the best thing for their clients, and everyone involved should have a passion for what they do. Career study isn’t just about passing exams – the process should be all about helping you work out the best action plan for your future.
The way a programme is physically sent to you isn’t always given the appropriate level of importance. How many stages do they break the program into? What is the specific order and at what speed is it delivered? Delivery by courier of each element one piece at a time, taking into account your exam passes is the normal way of receiving your courseware. This sounds sensible, but you must understand the following: Maybe the order of study offered by the provider doesn’t suit. You may find it a stretch to finalise every element inside their defined time-scales?
Ideally, you’d get ALL the training materials right at the beginning – meaning you’ll have all of them for the future to come back to - as and when you want. Variations can then be made to the order that you move through the program where a more intuitive path can be found.
Wouldn’t it be great to know for sure that our jobs will always be secure and our work futures are protected, but the growing likelihood for most sectors throughout England at the moment is that there is no security anymore. Wherever we find rising skills shortages coupled with growing demand though, we always find a newly emerging type of security in the marketplace; driven by the constant growth conditions, organisations are struggling to hire enough staff.
The IT skills-gap throughout the UK currently stands at approximately twenty six percent, as noted by a recent e-Skills investigation. It follows then that for each 4 job positions that exist across computing, organisations can only source certified professionals for 3 of the 4. This fundamental reality clearly demonstrates an urgent requirement for more properly trained computing professionals across Great Britain. With the market growing at the speed it is, is there any other sector worth looking at for retraining.
A sneaky way that colleges make extra profits is by adding exam fees upfront to the cost of a course and then including an ‘Exam Guarantee’. It looks like a good deal, until you think it through:
It’s very clear we’re still paying for it – obviously it has been added into the full cost of the package supplied by the training company. It’s absolutely not free (although some people will believe anything the marketing companies think up these days!) Qualifying on the first ‘go’ is what everyone wants to do. Going for exams when it’s appropriate and funding them as you go has a marked effect on pass-rates – you prepare appropriately and think carefully about the costs.
Don’t pay up-front, but seek out the best deal for you when you take the exam, and save having to find the money early. You’ll also be able to choose where to sit the exam – so you can find somewhere local. Big margins are made by many companies that get money upfront for exam fees. For various reasons, many students don’t take their exams but the company keeps the money. Believe it or not, there are training companies who actually rely on students not sitting all the exams – as that’s how they make a lot of their profit. Don’t forget, in the majority of cases of ‘exam guarantees’ – they control when and how often you can do your re-takes. You will have to demonstrate an excellent pass-rate before they’ll approve a re-take.
Paying maybe a thousand pounds extra on an ‘Exam Guarantee’ is foolish – when a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools is actually the key to your success.
Accredited exam preparation packages are crucial – and should definitely be offered by your training provider. Confirm that the exams you practice haven’t just got questions on the right subjects, but additionally ask them in the exact format that the real exams will formulate them. It completely unsettles students if they’re met with completely different formats and phraseologies. ‘Mock’ or practice exams can be very useful as a resource to you – so that when you come to take the proper exam, you will be much more relaxed.
