With such a large selection of IT and computer courses on offer these days, it's best to take advice from a company who can help you settle on the right one for you. Professional companies will familiarise you with the various career options that might suit you, before offering you a computer course that will give you the knowledge you need. There's a huge choice when it comes to training - from basic office skills up to training programs for programmers, networkers, web designers etc. Share your ideas before you jump in with two feet - talk to an advisor with knowledge of the market sector. Somebody who you trust to select the right career path for you - that's both relevant to industry and will prepare you for a career you'll enjoy.

By taking advantage of the latest training methods and keeping costs to a minimum, there's a new style of course provider supplying a superior brand of computer training and back-up for hundreds of pounds less.

So, why is it better to gain commercial certification rather than more traditional academic qualifications gained through schools and Further Education colleges? Vendor-based training (as it's known in the industry) is far more specialised and product-specific. Industry has become aware that such specialised knowledge is what's needed to cope with a technologically complex commercial environment. Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe dominate in this arena. Higher education courses, for example, become confusing because of vast amounts of background study - and much too wide a syllabus. Students are then prevented from getting enough core and in-depth understanding on a specific area.

When it comes down to the nitty-gritty: Recognised IT certifications tell an employer precisely what skills you have - the title says it all: i.e. I am a 'Microsoft Certified Professional' in 'Managing and Maintaining Windows Server 2003'. Consequently companies can look at the particular needs they have and which qualifications are required to fulfil that.

Discovering job security these days is very rare. Businesses will remove us from the workplace at a moment's notice - as and when it suits them. It's possible though to discover market-level security, by searching for areas in high demand, mixed with work-skill shortages.

Recently, a British e-Skills study showed that 26 percent of computing and IT jobs haven't been filled as an upshot of a chronic shortage of appropriately certified professionals. Meaning that for every four jobs existing across Information Technology (IT), we have only 3 certified professionals to do them. Fully qualified and commercially accredited new employees are accordingly at a total premium, and it seems it will continue to be so for a long time. While the market is increasing at such a quick pace, is there any other area of industry worth looking at for a new career.

Review the following facts in detail if you believe the sales ploy of an 'Exam Guarantee' sounds great value:

Patently it's not free - you're still footing the bill for it - it's just been included in your package price. It's everybody's ambition to qualify on the first attempt. Going for exams in order and paying as you go puts you in a much stronger position to qualify at the first attempt - you take it seriously and are aware of the costs involved.

Don't you think it's more sensible to not pay up-front, but at the time, not to pay any mark-up to a training course provider, and also to sit exams more locally - instead of the remote centre that's convenient only to the trainer? A surprising number of current training providers secure huge amounts of money because they're getting in the money for examinations upfront and hoping that you won't take them all. Many training companies will require you to do mock exams and not allow you to re-take an exam until you've completely proven that you're likely to pass - so an 'Exam Guarantee' comes with many clauses in reality.

Exams taken at VUE and Prometric centres are approximately 112 pounds in the UK. Why spend so much more on 'Exam Guarantee' costs (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) - when a quality course, support and a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools are actually the key to your success.

Most trainers typically provide a bunch of books and manuals. Obviously, this isn't much fun and isn't the best way to go about remembering. Research into the way we learn shows that we remember much more when we use all our senses, and we get physically involved with the study process.

Find a course where you'll get a host of CD or DVD ROM's - you'll start with videos of instructor demonstrations, and then have the opportunity to hone your abilities through virtual lab's. It's very important to see some example materials from each company you're contemplating. Be sure that they contain full motion videos of instructors demonstrating the topic with lab's to practice the skills in.

Go for CD and DVD ROM based physical training media where possible. Thus avoiding all the issues associated with broadband 'downtime' or slow-speeds.