In first place for the top potential problem in the IT training sector is often the 'in-centre' workshop requirement. Most certification companies push the so-called 'benefits' of these classes, however, they quickly become a growing difficulty due to:

- Masses of travelling to and from the centre - normally hundreds of miles.

- If, like many of us, you work, then weekday only classes are hard to attend. You could be looking at 2-3 days at a time as well.

- Lost annual leave - many working people only have 20 days holiday. If you use up half of that with educational days, vacation time is going to be quite short for most student's families.

- Training classes usually are over-subscribed, so we end up having to take a slot that doesn't really suit.

- A lot of students want to progress quickly, others want a more steady pace and be allowed to set their own speed. This causes tension and bad atmosphere in most workshops.

- Take into account all of all the petrol, fares, accommodation, food and parking and you may be surprised (and not pleasantly). Students mention extra costs of between several hundred and a couple of thousand pounds. Sit down and add it up - then you'll know.

- We all enjoy our privacy. We don't want to risk losing any advancement due to us because we're getting trained in a different area.

- Every one of us must, at some time, have avoided posing that question we were dying to ask, just because we didn't want to look stupid?

- It should be remembered that workshops become simply impossible to attend, when you work elsewhere in the country for some part of the year.

It would be better to watch on-screen and be taught by instructors one-on-one via pre-made classes, working on them when it suits you - not somebody else. Whenever you get stuck, use the provided 24x7 live support (that we hope you'll insist on with any technical courses.) Remember, if your PC is a notebook PC, you can study just about anywhere. Note-taking is gone forever - everything is prepared in advance for you. Anything you want to do over, you've got it all. Could it get any simpler: You avoid travelling and wasting time and money; plus you've got a much more relaxed learning atmosphere.

Consider only training programs which grow into industry recognised accreditations. There's a plethora of trainers proposing 'in-house' certificates which aren't worth the paper they're printed on in the real world. Unless the accreditation comes from a big-hitter like Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco or CompTIA, then chances are it won't be commercially viable - because no-one will recognise it.

OK, why should we consider commercially accredited qualifications instead of traditional academic qualifications gained through tech' colleges and universities? The IT sector is now aware that to learn the appropriate commercial skills, official accreditation supplied for example by Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe is far more effective and specialised - saving time and money. Vendor training works through focusing on the actual skills required (together with an appropriate level of associated knowledge,) instead of trawling through all the background 'extras' that academic courses often do (because the syllabus is so wide).

It's a bit like the TV advert: 'It does what it says on the label'. Employers simply need to know what they need doing, and then request applicants with the correct exam numbers. Then they know that anyone who applies can do the necessary work.

A few years ago Microsoft up-graded their principal accreditation paths. They upgraded from their previous MCAD/MCSD (Microsoft Certified Application/Solutions Developer) exams to the 'MCTS' (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist) and the MCPD (Microsoft Certified Professional Developer) examinations. Look to train for 2 pre requisite 'MCTS' qualifications before engaging in the 'MCPD'. When programming is going to be new to you, it makes sense to begin with a programming introduction course first of all - despite the fact that Microsoft label their first unit a foundation module. It's also usually sensible to take a support certification prior to each of them, so a good understanding of software-environments & software support may be obtained. A support accreditation will allow you to to acquire your 1st IT role. Standard study times tend to be approximately 600 to 700 hrs for the complete career-track, and therefore you'd normally prepare for 12 to 18 months of part-time study.

It's essential to have an authorised exam preparation system included in the package you choose. Because the majority of examination boards in IT are American, you'll need to be used to the correct phraseology. It's no use just understanding random questions - they must be in an exam format that exactly replicates the real thing. You should make sure you check how much you know through quizzes and mock ups of exams prior to taking the real thing.

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