What are the sort of things you'd expect the best Microsoft accredited suppliers to provide a trainee in the United Kingdom at present? Undoubtedly, the very best Gold Partner training tracks certified by Microsoft, providing a selection of courses to lead you towards various areas of industry. Perhaps you'd want to talk in detail on the jobs available to you once you have passed your exams, and what sort of person those jobs would appeal to. Lots of people feel happier if they can be advised on what would suit them individually. After settling on the career path you want, you must find a suitable training program matched to your needs. Your study program should leave no room for complaints.

Quite often, students have issues with a single courseware aspect very rarely considered: How the training is broken down and sent out to you. By and large, you'll enrol on a course taking 1-3 years and get sent one module each time you pass an exam. This sounds logical on one level, until you consider this: Maybe the order of study insisted on by the company won't suit you. And what if you don't finish all the elements within the time limits imposed?

The very best situation would see you getting all the learning modules sent to your address right at the beginning; the entire package! This prevents any future issues from rising that will affect the reaching of your goals.

There is no way of over emphasising this: You have to get round-the-clock 24x7 instructor and mentor support. We can tell you that you'll strongly regret it if you don't. Don't accept certification programs which can only support students via a message system after office-staff have gone home. Training schools will give you every excuse in the book why you don't need this. But, no matter how they put it - support is needed when it's needed - not as-and-when it's suitable for their staff.

World-class organisations utilise an online round-the-clock package pulling in several support offices across the globe. You will be provided with a simple interface that seamlessly accesses whichever office is appropriate at any time of day or night: Support available as-and-when you want it. Look for a company that gives this level of learning support. Because only live 24x7 round-the-clock support truly delivers for technical programs.

Your training program should always include the most up to date Microsoft (or Cisco, CompTIA etc.) accredited exam simulation and preparation packages. Because a lot of IT examination boards come from the United States, it's essential to understand how exam questions will be phrased and formatted. It's no use simply answering any old technical questions - they need to be in the proper exam format. Practice exams are invaluable as a resource to you - so that when you come to take your actual exams, you will be much more relaxed.

Only consider learning paths which will grow into industry recognised qualifications. There are loads of small companies promoting minor 'in-house' certificates which aren't worth the paper they're printed on when you start your job-search. If your certification doesn't come from a conglomerate such as Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco or CompTIA, then it's likely it won't be commercially viable - because no-one will recognise it.