PC and network support staff are ever more sought after in this country, as businesses are becoming more reliant upon their knowledge and fixing and repairing abilities. Our country's need for better qualified personnel is growing, as we turn out to be significantly more beholden to PC's in the twenty first century.

Don't put too much store, like so many people do, on the training process. Your training isn't about getting a plaque on your wall; this is about employment. Focus on the end-goal. Avoid becoming one of those unfortunate students who choose a training program that sounds really 'interesting' and 'fun' - and end up with a plaque on the wall for a job they hate.

You also need to know what your attitude is towards earning potential and career progression, plus your level of ambition. You should understand what the role will demand of you, which certifications are needed and in what way you can develop commercial experience. The best advice for students is to chat with an experienced industry professional before deciding on their retraining program. This is required to ensure it contains the relevant skills for the career path that has been chosen.

One crafty way that training providers make a lot more is through up-front charges for exams and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams. It looks like a good deal, but is it really:

We all know that we're still paying for it - it's obviously been added into the overall price charged by the college. It's definitely not free (although some people will believe anything the marketing companies think up these days!) It's everybody's ambition to qualify on the first attempt. Taking your exams progressively in order and paying for them just before taking them has a marked effect on pass-rates - you put the effort in and are mindful of the investment you've made.

Isn't it outrageous to have to pay a training course provider up-front for exams? Find the best exam deal or offer when you take the exam, don't pay mark-ups - and take it closer to home - rather than possibly hours away from your area. Many current training providers secure big margins through charging for exam fees early and hoping you won't see them all through. Remember, with 'Exam Guarantees' from most places - they control when and how often you are allowed to have another go. You'll have to prove conclusively that you can pass before they'll pay for another exam.

On average, exams cost approximately 112 pounds last year through VUE or Pro-metric centres in the UK. So why pay hundreds or thousands of pounds extra to have 'Exam Guarantees', when any student knows that what's really needed is a regular, committed, study programme, with an accredited exam preparation system.

Trainees hoping to start a career in IT generally haven't a clue what direction to consider, let alone what sector to build their qualifications around. Since with no solid background in computing, how can most of us understand what a particular job actually consists of? Achieving an informed choice only comes through a systematic investigation covering many altering criteria:

* Personalities play an important part - what kind of areas spark your interest, and what are the activities that get you down.

* What time-frame are you looking at for your training?

* What priority do you place on travelling time and locality vs salary?

* Learning what typical work types and sectors are - and what makes them different.

* How much effort you'll have available to commit the training program.

The best way to avoid the barrage of jargon, and discover the best path to success, have an informal meeting with an industry expert and advisor; a person that will cover the commercial realities and truth as well as each qualification.

Proper support is incredibly important - locate a good company providing 24x7 full access, as not opting for this kind of support could hold up your pace and restrict your intake. some companies only provide email support (slow), and so-called telephone support is normally just routed to a call-centre that will take the information and email an instructor - who'll call back sometime over the next 1-3 days, when it suits them. This is no use if you're stuck with a particular problem and only have certain times available in which to do your studies.

We recommend looking for training schools that incorporate three or four individual support centres across multiple time-zones. All of them should be combined to offer a simple interface together with round-the-clock access, when it's convenient for you, with no fuss. Unless you insist on direct-access 24x7 support, you'll quickly find yourself regretting it. You may not need it during late nights, but you're bound to use weekends, early mornings or even late evenings at some point.

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