Congratulate yourself that you’re on the right track! Just ten percent of people say they enjoy their work, but a huge number simply moan about it and that’s it. Because you’ve done research we have a hunch that you’re at least considering retraining, which means you’re already ahead of the pack. What comes next is find out more and then take action.
When considering retraining, it’s important to first define what you want and don’t want from the career you would like to get. Ensure that things would be a lot better before much time and effort is spent re-directing your life. So much better to look at the end goal first, to make the right judgements:
* Would you like to work with others? If the answer’s yes, would you enjoy being part of a team or are you hoping to meet new people? Or would you rather work alone with a task?
* What ideas do you have regarding the industry you’re looking to get into?
* Is this the final time you plan to retrain, and therefore, will this new career allow you to do that?
* Would it be useful for your training course to be in an area where you know you’ll have a job until your pension kicks in?
It’s important that you don’t overlook IT – everyone knows that it’s on the grow. It’s not all nerdy people gazing at their PC’s the whole time – we know some IT jobs demand that, but the majority of roles are filled with people like you and me who get on very well.
Have you recently questioned the security of your job? Normally, this only rears its head when something goes wrong. However, the reality is that true job security is a thing of the past, for nearly everyone now.
Where there are growing skills deficits mixed with increasing demand though, we often locate a newer brand of security in the marketplace; as fuelled by the constant growth conditions, organisations find it hard to locate enough staff.
Offering the computer industry for instance, a recent e-Skills survey brought to light major skills shortages in the UK in excess of 26 percent. Meaning that for every 4 jobs that exist around Information Technology (IT), there are only 3 trained people to do them.
Accomplishing the appropriate commercial computer certification is thus a quick route to succeed in a long-lasting as well as enjoyable livelihood.
In actuality, acquiring professional IT skills over the next year or two is likely the safest choice of careers you could make.
It’s quite a normal occurrence for students not to check on a vitally important element – the way the company segments the courseware elements, and into how many separate packages.
Trainees may consider it sensible (with most training taking 1-3 years for a full commercial certification,) for a training company to release the training stage by stage, as you achieve each exam pass. Although:
What happens when you don’t complete every exam? And what if the order provided doesn’t meet your requirements? Without any fault on your part, you mightn’t complete everything fast enough and therefore not end up with all the modules.
Put simply, the best option is to get an idea of what they recommend as an ideal study order, but get all the study materials at the start. Everything is then in your possession if you don’t manage to finish within their ideal time-table.
Far too many companies focus completely on the certification process, and completely miss what you actually need – which will always be getting the job or career you want. Always start with where you want to get to – don’t make the journey more important than where you want to get to.
It’s an awful thing, but a great many students begin programs that seem wonderful from the sales literature, but which delivers a career that is of no interest at all. Try talking to typical university leavers to see what we mean.
You need to keep your eye on what you want to achieve, and then build your training requirements around that – don’t do it back-to-front. Keep your eyes on your goals and begin studying for a job you’ll still be enjoying many years from now.
We recommend that students seek guidance and advice from a skilled advisor before embarking on a learning programme, so there’s little doubt that the chosen route will give you the skills for the job being sought.
A competent and professional advisor (vs a salesman) will want to thoroughly discuss your current experience level and abilities. This is vital for understanding your study start-point.
Remember, if in the past you’ve acquired any accreditation or direct-experience, then you may be able to pick-up at a different starting-point to a trainee with no history to speak of.
Consider starting with some basic user skills first. This can set the scene for your on-going studies and make the slope up to the higher-levels a a little easier.
(C) Jason Kendall. Navigate to LearningLolly.com for superb ideas. Click Here or New Career Skills.