Good for you! As you’re reading this article it’s likely you’re thinking about retraining for a new career – so already you’ve made a start. Very few of us are satisfied with our careers, but no action is ever taken. You could be a member of the few who make a difference in their lives.
We’d strongly advise that in advance of taking any study program, you discuss your plans with a person who has knowledge of the industry and can point you in the right direction. They can look at aspects of your personality and assist in finding the right role for you:
* Do you like working on your own or perhaps being around others is vital for your sanity?
* What ideas do you have regarding the industry you’re looking to get into?
* Should this be a one off time that re-training is necessary?
* Are you concerned about the possibility of getting another job, and being in demand in the employment market until you plan to retire?
It’s important that you don’t overlook IT – everyone knows that it’s on the grow. It’s not all nerdy people gazing at their PC’s the whole time – we know some IT jobs demand that, but the majority of roles are filled with people like you and me who get on very well.
Have you recently questioned the security of your job? Normally, this only rears its head when something goes wrong. However, the reality is that true job security is a thing of the past, for nearly everyone now.
It’s possible though to discover market-level security, by digging for areas in high demand, mixed with a lack of qualified workers.
The Information Technology (IT) skills deficit around the country currently stands at over twenty six percent, as noted by the most recent e-Skills investigation. Put simply, we’re only able to fill three out of every four jobs in Information Technology (IT).
This single truth alone underpins why the country urgently requires considerably more new trainees to join the IT industry.
In actuality, acquiring professional IT skills over the next year or two is likely the safest choice of careers you could make.
Students often end up having issues because of one area of their training usually not even thought about: The breakdown of the course materials before being physically delivered to you.
Many companies enrol you into a 2 or 3 year study programme, and drop-ship the materials to you piecemeal as you complete each section or exam. This sounds reasonable until you consider the following:
Students often discover that their training company’s standard order of study is not what they would prefer. Sometimes, a slightly different order suits them better. And what happens if they don’t finish within their exact timetable?
To be in the best situation you would have all the learning modules posted to your home before you even start; every single thing! Thus avoiding any future problems that could impede your capability of finishing.
Far too many companies focus completely on the certification process, and completely miss what you actually need – which will always be getting the job or career you want. Always start with where you want to get to – don’t make the journey more important than where you want to get to.
It’s possible, for instance, to get a great deal of enjoyment from a year of study but end up spending 10 or 20 years in something completely unrewarding, as a consequence of not performing some decent due-diligence at the beginning.
Be honest with yourself about the income level you aspire to and whether you’re an ambitious person or not. Usually, this will point the way to which precise qualifications will be required and how much effort you’ll have to give in return.
Seek out help from a professional advisor that ‘gets’ the commercial realities of the area you’re interested in, and will be able to provide ‘A typical day in the life of’ synopsis of what you’ll actually be doing during your working week. It’s good sense to understand whether or not this is right for you long before your course begins. What’s the point in kicking off your training and then find you’ve taken the wrong route.
A competent and professional advisor (vs a salesman) will want to thoroughly discuss your current experience level and abilities. This is vital for understanding your study start-point.
Remember, if in the past you’ve acquired any accreditation or direct-experience, then you may be able to pick-up at a different starting-point to a trainee with no history to speak of.
Working through a basic PC skills module first can be the best way to start into your IT programme, but depends on your skill level.
(C) Jason Kendall. Browse LearningLolly.com for the best advice. www.learninglolly.com or www.adult-retraining.co.uk.
