Four specialist training areas feature in the overall A+ programme, of which 2 passes are needed for competency in A+. But limiting yourself to 2 out of the 4 subjects available is likely to leave your knowledge base somewhat light. At least learn about all four - for greater confidence in the world of work.

As well as being taught how to build and fix computers, trainees involved in this training will be taught how to work in antistatic conditions, as well as diagnostics, fault-finding and remote access. If you aspire to being responsible for networks of computers, you should add Network+ to your training package. This will prepare you to assist you greatly in the job market. Other ones that might be interesting to you are the Microsoft networking qualifications (MCP, MCSA and MCSE).

'CompTIA' 'A+' & the Network+ are by far the most widely recognised of their accreditations. An exceptionally beneficial set considered as a package, they're the kick off point for a lot of productive career paths. The CompTIA A+ accreditation teaches the fundamentals of PC maintenance, support, security, installation, fault-finding and repair. To help you to establish yourself in the IT industry, the 'A+' also handles a number of communication and personal abilities. The CompTIA 'Network+' qualification extends this experience to a deeper grasp of networking, servers and routers, and exactly how they connect together. The vital issue of Security is underlined, and Wireless technologies are discussed at an introductory level. The two qualifications go with one another nicely, and together form a good starting platform for other exam packages, or a strong career in I.T. support.

The two exams have fairly recently undergone a 2009 update in-line with the company's move towards ISO standardisation. Worldwide the 2006/2007 editions of A+ (with examination pre-fix numbers '600') will be retired within the next twelve months. In Britain, they discontinue on 31st August 2010. Up until that date, students can take either the 600 or the newer '700' examinations in local test centres (namely Vue and 'Prometric'). Reason dictates that new trainees should take version '2009'. The individual A+ 2009 examinations have become: CompTIA 'A+' Essentials (exam 220/701) and 'CompTIA' A+ Practical Application (examination 220-702.) The four previous examinations have been re-structured in to two new examinations, & some further updated information has been added. The previous format was 1 required Essentials exam and three electives, of which just one was required to be taken. As the industry has developed, the know-how from all four exams is now regarded as necessary, and consequently has been fine-tuned into two essential exams. Anyone who has previously achieved the 600 examination may bring their accreditation up to date by taking a bridging exam - BR-003. Extra training will undoubtedly be needed, especially for those who only originally worked on 2 of the four 'electives'. Adequate training time should be factored in for the newer technology aspects however.

Can job security honestly exist anywhere now? Here in the UK, with industry changing its mind on a day-to-day basis, it certainly appears not. We could however locate market-level security, by looking for areas of high demand, tied with a lack of qualified workers.

The 2006 UK e-Skills survey showed that over 26 percent of all IT positions available haven't been filled due to an appallingly low number of properly qualified workers. Put simply, we can't properly place more than just 3 out of 4 positions in Information Technology (IT). Appropriately qualified and commercially accredited new workers are therefore at a resounding premium, and it seems it will continue to be so for many years to come. Because the IT sector is evolving at such a rate, there really isn't any other market worth investigating for retraining.

How the program is actually delivered to you isn't always given the appropriate level of importance. In what way are your training elements sectioned? What is the specific order and what control do you have at what pace it arrives? Typically, you will join a program requiring 1-3 years study and receive one element at a time until graduation. While this may sound logical on one level, consider this: Maybe the order of study pushed by the company's salespeople doesn't suit all of us. And what if you don't finish all the elements inside their defined time-scales?

The very best situation would see you getting all your study materials sent to you right at the start; the entire thing! Thus avoiding any future problems that could impede your progress.