Just ten percent of adults in this country are claiming to be happy in their job. The vast majority of course will do nothing about it. The fact that you're reading this at a minimum means that you've realised change must come.
Before embarking on a course, look for some advice - find someone who knows the industry; an advisor who can get to the bottom of what you'll like in a job, and analyse the learning programs you may be suited to:
* Is having company at work important to you? Do you like to deal with the public? Or you may prefer task-orientated work that you can complete alone?
* What do you need from your chosen industry? (Building and banking - not so stable as they once were.)
* How long a career do you hope to have once retrained, and can your chosen industry offer you that opportunity?
* Do you believe that your industry training course will make you employable, and make it possible to work right up to retirement age?
* What do you need from your chosen industry? (Building and banking - not so stable as they once were.)
* How long a career do you hope to have once retrained, and can your chosen industry offer you that opportunity?
* Do you believe that your industry training course will make you employable, and make it possible to work right up to retirement age?
The most significant market sector in Great Britain that can satisfy a trainee's demands is the computer industry, particularly IT. There's a shortage of qualified people in this sector, - take a look at any job site and you'll see for yourself. But don't think it's full of techie geeks looking at their computerscreens all day - there's a lot more to it than that. Large numbers of workers in IT are just like you and me, with jobs they enjoy and better than average salaries.
Commencing with the idea that it makes sense to home-in on the market that sounds most inviting first, before we're able to contemplate which career development program ticks the right boxes, how can we choose the way that suits us? Working through lists of IT career possibilities is no use whatsoever. Most of us have no idea what our good friends do at work - so what chance do we have in understanding the subtleties of any specific IT role. Often, the key to unlocking this dilemma appropriately flows from a deep conversation around a variety of topics:
* Personality factors plus what interests you - which working tasks please or frustrate you.
* Are you aiming to pull off an important goal - like being your own boss as quickly as possible?
* How highly do you rate salary - is it very important, or do you place job satisfaction higher up on the priority-scale?
* There are many markets to choose from in computing - you'll need to gain some background information on what separates them.
* Having a cold, hard look at how much time and effort you'll make available.
* Are you aiming to pull off an important goal - like being your own boss as quickly as possible?
* How highly do you rate salary - is it very important, or do you place job satisfaction higher up on the priority-scale?
* There are many markets to choose from in computing - you'll need to gain some background information on what separates them.
* Having a cold, hard look at how much time and effort you'll make available.
Ultimately, the most intelligent way of covering these is via a good talk with an advisor that has enough background to be able to guide you.
Many training companies offer a Job Placement Assistance service, to help you get your first job. Ultimately it isn't so complicated as you might think to get employment - as long as you've got the necessary skills and qualifications; the shortage of IT personnel in Britain looks after that.
Get your CV updated straight-away though (advice can be sought on this via your provider). Don't delay till the exams have actually been passed. Having the possibility of an interview is better than being rejected. Many junior support roles are bagged by trainees (sometimes when they've only just got going.) If you'd like to keep travelling time and costs to a minimum, then you'll often find that a local IT focused recruitment consultancy can generally serve you better than a centralised service, because they are much more inclined to have insider knowledge of the jobs that are going locally.
In a nutshell, as long as you focus the same level of energy into securing a job as into training, you're not going to hit many challenges. A number of people bizarrely put hundreds of hours into their training course and then just stop once they've passed their exams and seem to suppose that interviewers know they're there.
All programs you're considering really needs to work up to a nationally (or globally) recognised certification as an end-result - not a useless 'in-house' piece of paper. From a commercial standpoint, only the top companies such as Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco or CompTIA (to give some examples) will get you into the interview seat. Anything less just won't hit the right spot.
An important area that is sometimes not even considered by new students mulling over a new direction is that of 'training segmentation'. This is essentially the way the course is divided up for drop-shipping to you, which can make a dramatic difference to where you end up. Trainees may consider it sensible (with a typical time scale of 1-3 years to achieve full certification,) for a training company to release a single section at a time, as you pass each element. However: With thought, many trainees understand that their providers standard order of study doesn't suit. It's often the case that it's more expedient to use an alternative order of study. And what if you don't get to the end at the pace they expect?
Ideally, you want everything at the start - so you'll have them all for the future to come back to - as and when you want. Variations can then be made to the order that you complete your exams if you find another route more intuitive.
Written by Jason Kendall. Try learninglolly.com or Adult Retraining.
