Network and computer support technicians are constantly sought after in Great Britain, as institutions become progressively more dependent upon their knowledge and capacity to solve problems. Our requirement for more qualified personnel multiplies, as human beings become consistently more dependent upon PC's in today's environment.

Make sure that all your qualifications are current and also valid commercially - don't bother with programmes that lead to in-house certificates. From the perspective of an employer, only the big-boys like Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Adobe (to give some examples) give enough bang for your buck. Anything less won't make the grade.

Full support is of the utmost importance - look for a package that provides 24x7 direct access, as not obtaining this level of support will severely hold up your pace and restrict your intake. Never purchase certification programs which can only support you via an out-sourced call-centre message system after 6-9pm in the evening and during weekends. Training companies will give you every excuse in the book why you don't need this. But, no matter how they put it - you want to be supported when you need the help - not at their convenience.

The best training colleges tend to use an online 24x7 service combining multiple support operations over many time-zones. You'll have an easy to use interface that seamlessly selects the best facility available irrespective of the time of day: Support available as-and-when you want it. Unless you insist on online 24x7 support, you'll quickly find yourself regretting it. You might not want to use the service during late nights, but you're bound to use weekends, early mornings or late evenings.

The classroom style of learning we remember from school, utilising reference manuals and books, is often a huge slog for most of us. If all this is ringing some familiar bells, look for learning programmes which feature interactive and multimedia modules. Many studies have proved that we remember much more when we receive multi-sensorial input, and we get practically involved in what we're studying.

Learning is now available in the form of CD and DVD ROM's, where your computer becomes the centre of your learning. Using video-streaming, you will be able to see the instructor presenting exactly how something is done, with some practice time to follow - with interactive lab sessions. It's imperative to see courseware examples from each company you're contemplating. Be sure that they contain video demo's and interactive elements such as practice lab's.

It's folly to select online only courseware. Due to the variable nature of connection quality from your average broadband company, it makes sense to have CD or DVD ROM based materials.

A ridiculously large number of organisations are all about the certification, and completely miss the reasons for getting there - which will always be getting the job or career you want. Always begin with the end goal - too many people focus on the journey. Never let yourself become one of those unfortunate people who select a program which looks like it could be fun - only to end up with a qualification for an unrewarding career path.

It's a good idea to understand what industry will expect from you. What precise certifications they'll want you to gain and how you'll go about getting some commercial experience. It's also worth spending time setting guidelines as to how far you reckon you're going to want to go as it will present a very specific set of qualifications. It's good advice for all students to speak to an experienced industry professional before following a particular training course. This is required to ensure it contains the relevant skills for the chosen career.

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