If we didn't have a steady stream of qualified network and PC support staff, commercial enterprise in the UK (as elsewhere) would surely grind to a halt. Therefore, there's a constantly increasing requirement for technicians to support both the users themselves and their networks. The need for the above mentioned members of the workforce is consistently on the grow, as everything becomes significantly more reliant on computers.

Potential Students hopeful to build a career in IT often aren't sure what route to follow, or even which market to obtain accreditation for. Working through a list of odd-sounding and meaningless job titles is no use whatsoever. The vast majority of us don't even know what our own family members do for a living - so we have no hope of understanding the intricacies of a specific IT job. The key to answering this question appropriately lies in a deep chat, covering a number of areas:

• Personality plays a starring role - what gets you 'up and running', and what are the areas that get you down.

• Is your focus to obtain training because of a certain motive - for instance, is it your goal to work based at home (maybe self-employment?)?

• Is salary further up on your priority-scale than other factors.

• With everything that computing encapsulates, you'll need to be able to absorb what is different.

• You'll also need to think hard about the amount of time and effort that you will set aside for your training.

The bottom line is, the best way of investigating all this is through a meeting with someone who through years of experience will give you the information required.

We can all agree: There's no such thing as personal job security available anymore; there's only industry or business security - as any company can remove anyone whenever it fits the company's commercial needs. We could however reveal security at the market sector level, by digging for high demand areas, mixed with shortages of trained staff.

Offering the computing sector for example, a recent e-Skills analysis showed a skills gap across the United Kingdom around the 26 percent mark. Essentially, we can only fill three out of every 4 jobs in Information Technology (IT). This one idea on its own reveals why the country needs many more new trainees to become part of the IT industry. For sure, now, more than ever, really is such a perfect time to consider retraining into Information Technology (IT).

Speak with almost any knowledgeable advisor and they can normally tell you many horror stories of salespeople ripping-off unsuspecting students. Only deal with an experienced industry professional that asks some in-depth questions to discover the most appropriate thing for you - not for their bank-account! Dig until you find an ideal starting-point that fits you. With a strong background, or even a touch of live experience (possibly even some previous certification?) then it's likely the point from which you begin your studies will be different from a student that is completely new to the industry. It's wise to consider a user-skills course first. It will usually make the transition to higher-level learning a a little easier.

Ensure all your certifications are current and also valid commercially - don't bother with programmes that lead to in-house certificates. You'll discover that only industry recognised examinations from the top companies like Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco and CompTIA will have any meaning to employers.