There are four specialised areas of training in the complete CompTIA A+ course, but you're just required to achieve pass marks in 2 for competency in A+. But restricting yourself to two of the specialised areas is likely to leave your knowledge base somewhat light. Look for training that covers all the specialist areas - this will give you the edge in the working environment.

A+ computer training courses are about fault finding and diagnosing - via hands on and remote access, alongside building, fixing, repairing and working in antistatic conditions. Were you to add Network+ to your CompTIA A+ training course, you will additionally be able to take care of networks, meaning you're in a position to move further up the career path.

How the program is actually delivered to you can often be overlooked. In what way are your training elements sectioned? And in what order and how fast does each element come? Training companies will normally offer some sort of program spread over 1-3 years, and drop-ship the materials to you piecemeal as you complete each section or exam. On the surface this seems reasonable - until you consider the following: What would happen if you didn't finish all the exams at the proposed pace? Often the prescribed exam order won't fit you as well as an alternative path could be.

For the perfect solution, you'd get ALL the training materials right at the beginning - meaning you'll have all of them to return to any point - whenever it suits you. You can also vary the order in which you attack each section if another more intuitive route presents itself.

The classroom style of learning we remember from school, using textbooks and whiteboards, is often a huge slog for most of us. If this sounds like you, dig around for more practical courses that are on-screen and interactive. Research into the way we learn shows that long term memory is improved when we use all our senses, and we get physically involved with the study process.

Courses are now available in the form of CD and DVD ROM's, so you can study at your own computer. Through video streaming, you will be able to see the instructor presenting exactly how to perform the required skill, and then practice yourself - with interactive lab sessions. Be sure to get a training material demonstration from any training college. You'll want to see instructor videos, demonstrations, slide-shows and lab's for you to practice your skills in.

Select CD and DVD ROM based physical training media if possible. You can then avoid all the difficulties of internet connection failure and issues with signal quality.

Many trainees think that the tech college or university route is still the most effective. Why then are commercial certificates becoming more in demand? Vendor-based training (to use industry-speak) is most often much more specialised. The IT sector has realised that specialisation is necessary to service the demands of a technically advancing marketplace. Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe are the dominant players. Obviously, a reasonable degree of associated information needs to be learned, but precise specifics in the exact job role gives a commercially educated person a massive advantage.

The crux of the matter is this: Accredited IT qualifications provide exactly what an employer needs - the title says it all: for example, I am a 'Microsoft Certified Professional' in 'Windows XP Administration and Configuration'. So an employer can look at the particular needs they have and what certifications are needed for the job.

Most of us would love to think that our jobs will remain secure and our work prospects are protected, but the growing reality for most jobs around Great Britain today is that the marketplace is far from secure. Security can now only exist through a fast escalating market, pushed forward by a lack of trained workers. This shortage creates the correct conditions for a secure marketplace - a much more desirable situation.

The Information Technology (IT) skills-gap around the UK falls in at approximately 26 percent, according to the most recent e-Skills survey. So, out of each 4 positions existing across IT, businesses are only able to find enough qualified individuals for 3 of them. Well skilled and commercially certified new employees are thus at an absolute premium, and it seems it will continue to be so for many years longer. We can't imagine if a better time or market state of affairs will exist for getting trained into this hugely emerging and budding sector.