What kind of things might a person looking for Microsoft authorised training expect to come across? Patently, training companies should be offering a variety of course choices that match the needs of Microsoft certified training paths.
You’ll want to consider all the options with someone who understands the requirements in the workplace, and can help you choose the most appropriate area to match your character.
Training should be put together to suit your current level of knowledge and ability. So, having got to grips with the most fruitful career for you, your next requirement is the appropriate training programme to get you there.
A number of students assume that the school and FE college path is still the most effective. So why then is commercial certification becoming more in demand?
Key company training (in industry terminology) is far more specialised and product-specific. Industry has become aware that specialisation is vital to cope with a technically advancing world. Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA dominate in this arena.
In a nutshell, only required knowledge is taught. It isn’t quite as lean as that might sound, but the most important function is always to concentrate on the fundamentally important skill-sets (along with a certain amount of crucial background) – without overdoing the detail in everything else (as universities often do).
What if you were an employer – and your company needed a person with some very particular skills. What is easier: Trawl through reams of different degrees and college qualifications from hopeful applicants, having to ask what each has covered and which trade skills they’ve acquired, or choose a specific set of accreditations that specifically match what you’re looking for, and then select who you want to interview from that. You’ll then be able to concentrate on getting a feel for the person at interview – instead of having to work out if they can do the job.
Make sure that all your qualifications are current and also valid commercially – you’re wasting your time with programmes that lead to in-house certificates.
If the accreditation doesn’t feature a conglomerate such as Microsoft, Cisco, Adobe or CompTIA, then it’s likely it won’t be commercially viable – because it won’t give an employer any directly-useable skills.
The old fashioned style of teaching, utilising reference manuals and books, is an up-hill struggle for the majority of us. If this sounds like you, dig around for more practical courses that are multimedia based.
Many studies have proved that we remember much more when we use all our senses, and we get physically involved with the study process.
Modern training can now be done at home via interactive discs. Through instructor-led video classes you’ll find things easier to remember through the expert demonstrations. Then you test your knowledge by interacting with the software and practicing yourself.
All companies should willingly take you through a few examples of their training materials. Make sure you encounter videos of instructor-led classes and a wide selection of interactive elements.
You should avoid purely online training. Ideally, you should opt for CD and DVD ROM courseware where offered, enabling them to be used at your convenience – ISP quality varies, so you don’t want to be totally reliant on your broadband being ‘up’ 100 percent of the time.
A sneaky way that course providers make a big mark-up is by charging for exams up-front and offering an exam guarantee. This looks like a great idea for the student, but let’s just examine it more closely:
They’ve allowed costings for it somehow. You can be assured it’s not a freebie – they’ve just worked it into the package price.
It’s everybody’s ambition to qualify on the first attempt. Going for exams one by one and funding them as you go makes it far more likely you’ll pass first time – you take it seriously and think carefully about the costs.
Take your exams at a local pro-metric testing centre and look for the very best offer you can at the time.
Including money in your training package for examinations (which also includes interest if you’ve taken out a loan) is insane. Don’t line companies bank accounts with your money simply to help their cash-flow! A lot bank on the fact that you won’t get round to taking them – so they get to keep the extra funds.
Most companies will require you to do mock exams and prohibit you from re-taking an exam until you’ve completely proven that you’re likely to pass – which makes an ‘Exam Guarantee’ frankly useless.
Average exam fees were 112 pounds or thereabouts in the last 12 months through Prometric or VUE centres around the United Kingdom. So don’t be talked into shelling out hundreds or thousands of pounds more to get ‘an Exam Guarantee’, when common sense dictates that what’s really needed is study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams.
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