Lately, do you find yourself questioning the security of your job? Typically, we only think of this after something goes wrong. However, the painful truth is that job security is a thing of the past, for nearly everyone now. When we come across rising skills deficits together with escalating demand however, we always hit upon a newly emerging type of security in the marketplace; where, fuelled by conditions of continuous growth, employers find it hard to locate the staff required.

Offering the computer sector for example, the most recent e-Skills study showed massive skills shortages throughout the United Kingdom around the 26 percent mark. Or, to put it differently, this reveals that Great Britain only has 3 trained people for each 4 positions in existence today. Properly skilled and commercially grounded new professionals are as a result at an absolute premium, and it's estimated to remain so for a long time to come. Unquestionably, now, more than ever, really is a critical time to train for the computer industry.

Usually, trainers will provide a bunch of books and manuals. This can be very boring and not really conducive to taking things in. Recent studies into the way we learn shows that memory is aided when we use all our senses, and we put into practice what we've been studying.

Fully interactive motion videos with demonstrations and practice sessions beat books hands-down. And you'll actually enjoy doing them. Be sure to get a training material demonstration from any training college. You should ask for demo's from instructors, slideshows and interactive labs where you get to practice.

Pick disc based courseware (On CD or DVD) if possible. Thus avoiding all the issues associated with broadband 'downtime' or slow-speeds.

It can be a nerve-racking task, but securing your first computer related job is often eased because some trainers offer a Job Placement Assistance service. The need for this feature can be bigged up out of proportion though - it's quite easy for companies marketing departments to overplay it. At the end of the day, the huge shortage of staff in the UK is what will make you attractive to employers.

Update your CV at the beginning of your training though - you should get plenty of help from your training provider on this. Don't procrastinate and leave it till the exams have actually been passed. Quite often, you will get your initial job whilst you're still studying (even when you've just left first base). If you haven't updated your CV to say what you're studying (and it's not being looked at by employers) then you don't stand a chance! You can usually expect better results from a specialist independent regional employment service than any training company's centralised service, because they'll know the local area and commercial needs better.

Just be sure that you don't spend hundreds of hours on your training and studies, and then just stop and leave it in the hands of the gods to find you a job. Stop procrastinating and make your own enquiries. Invest as much resource into landing the right position as it took to get qualified.

An all too common mistake that many potential students make is to concentrate on the course itself, and take their eye off the desired end-result. Universities are full of unaware students who chose a course based on what sounded good - instead of the program that would surely get them an enjoyable career or job. You could be training for only a year and end up doing a job for a lifetime. Ensure you avoid the fatal error of opting for what may seem to be an 'interesting' course only to spend 20 years doing a job you don't like!

You'll want to understand what industry will expect from you. Which precise qualifications they'll want you to gain and how you'll build your experience level. It's definitely worth spending time setting guidelines as to how far you think you'll want to progress your career as it will often affect your choice of qualifications. We recommend that students always seek guidance and advice from an experienced professional before settling on a study path, so there's little doubt that the chosen route will give you the appropriate skill-set.

In first place for the most common difficulty in the IT training sector is usually having to turn up to 'In Centre' days or workshops. Most certification companies wax lyrical on the 'benefits' of going in to their classes, but most students end up finding them a major problem because of:

- Frequent round journeys - sometimes hundreds of miles each and every time.

- If, like many of us, you work, then weekday only classes are difficult to make. More than likely you will be contending with two or three days together to make it worse.

- If we've got twenty days annual leave, using half of that on study classes often means losing out on family and vacation time.

- Classes fill up fast and can sometimes be too big - so they're not personal enough.

- Some trainees want to work as quickly as possible, others want a more steady pace and not be forced to adopt an uncomfortable speed for them. This brings tension and unrest a lot of the time.

- Rising travel prices - travelling backwards and forwards to the training college and of course over-night accommodation can start to get expensive each time you attend. If we just assume a basic 5-10 classes at about thirty-five pounds for an over-night room, plus a petrol cost of 40 pounds and 15 pounds for food, that equates to four to nine hundred pounds of costs that we weren't expecting.

- You should never risk even a small chance of getting passed-over for advancement or income boosts while you're training.

- Surely, all of us at some time have avoided posing that question we were dying to ask, just because we wanted to look smarter?

- Don't forget, events become simply unreachable, when you work or live away for part of your week or month.

The absolute best situation is by viewing a videoed lesson - providing direct instruction at any time of day. Any time you get a problem, utilise the 24x7 Support (that you should have insisted on for any technical study.) Bear in mind, if you've got a notebook PC, you can study just about anywhere. Irrespective of how many times you have to re-cover a topic, video instructors can never get frustrated with you! And remember, because of this, note-taking becomes a thing of the past. Everything is there for quick access. Although this doesn't suddenly stop all study problems, it surely makes things easier, simpler and less stressful. You've also got less hassle, travel and costs.