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Training for your CompTIA A+ covers 4 different sectors - the requirement is exam passes in just two sectors to be seen as competent in A+. Because of this, most training providers limit their course to 2 of the training options. Our opinion is this is selling you short - yes you'll have qualified, but experience of all four will prepare you more fully for when you're in your working life, where you'll need to know about all of them. This is why you need education in the whole course.

As well as being taught how to build and fix computers, students on A+ courses will be taught how to work in antistatic conditions, as well as diagnostics, fault-finding and remote access.

You might also choose to consider adding Network+ training to your A+ as you'll then be in a position to take care of computer networks, which means greater employment benefits.

Adding in the cost of examinations with the course fee then giving it 'Exam Guarantee' status is a popular marketing tool with a number of training colleges. However, let's consider what's really going on:

You'll be charged for it ultimately. It's definitely not free - they've simply charged more for the whole training package.

Qualifying on the first 'go' is what everyone wants to do. Entering examinations when it's appropriate and funding them one at a time makes it far more likely you'll pass first time - you revise thoroughly and are mindful of the investment you've made.

Doesn't it make more sense to find the best exam deal or offer at the time, rather than coughing up months or even a year or two in advance to a training college, and to do it locally - instead of the remote centre that's convenient only to the trainer?

Many questionable training colleges secure a great deal of profit through getting paid for examinations upfront and hoping either that you won't take them, or it will be a long time before you do.

You should fully understand that re-takes via organisations with an 'Exam Guarantee' are monitored with tight restrictions. They'll insist that you take mock exams first until you've demonstrated an excellent ability to pass.

Exam fees averaged 112 pounds or thereabouts last year through local VUE or Pro-metric centres throughout the country. Therefore, why splash out often many hundreds of pounds extra to have 'an Exam Guarantee', when it's no secret that the best guarantee is a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools.

Lately, do you find yourself questioning the security of your job? For most people, this isn't an issue until we get some bad news. But in today's marketplace, The cold truth is that true job security has gone the way of the dodo, for nearly everyone now.

But a sector experiencing fast growth, where staff are in constant demand (due to a massive shortfall of fully trained people), provides a market for true job security.

The Information Technology (IT) skills-gap around the United Kingdom currently stands at roughly 26 percent, as shown by the latest e-Skills study. Accordingly, for each four job positions available throughout IT, employers are only able to locate certified professionals for 3 of the 4.

This glaring notion underpins the requirement for more commercially qualified IT professionals around Great Britain.

It's unlikely if a better time or market settings will exist for acquiring training in this quickly increasing and blossoming market.

Qualifications from the commercial sector are now, most definitely, beginning to replace the traditional routes into the industry - but why is this?

The IT sector now recognises that to cover the necessary commercial skill-sets, official accreditation supplied for example by Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe is far more effective and specialised - at a far reduced cost both money and time wise.

Patently, a necessary amount of background information needs to be learned, but essential specialised knowledge in the areas needed gives a commercially educated student a massive advantage.

When an employer knows what work they need doing, then they just need to look for the exact skill-set required to meet that need. Vendor-based syllabuses are set to exacting standards and aren't allowed to deviate (as academic syllabuses often do).

Of course: a training itself or a qualification isn't the end-goal; the particular job that you want to end up in is. Too many training companies place too much importance on the qualification itself.

Avoid becoming part of the group who select a program that seems 'fun' or 'interesting' - only to end up with a qualification for something they'll never enjoy.

Set targets for earning potential and the level of your ambition. Often, this changes which certifications will be expected and what you can expect to give industry in return.

You'd also need help from someone that can best explain the sector you're hoping to qualify in, and who can offer 'A typical day in the life of' type of explanation of the job being considered. These things are of paramount importance as you'll need to know whether or not you've chosen correctly.