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Saturday, September 5, 2009

Web Design Courses UK - News

By Jason Kendall

If you're considering being a web designer, find a course in Adobe Dreamweaver. To facilitate Dreamweaver commercially in web design, an in-depth understanding of the whole Adobe Web Creative Suite (which includes Flash and Action Script) is without doubt a bonus. Having this knowledge will mean, you might lead on to becoming an ACP (Adobe Certified Professional) or an ACE (Adobe Certified Expert).

The construction of the website only scratches the surface of the skill set required though - to drive traffic to the site, maintain its content, and work with dynamic database-driven sites, you will need additional programming skills, such as HTML, PHP and MySQL. It would also be a good idea to gain a good understanding of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and E-Commerce.

Far too many companies only look at the plaque to hang on your wall, and completely miss the reasons for getting there - getting yourself a new job or career. You should always begin with the end in mind - don't get hung-up on the training vehicle. Never let yourself become part of the group who set off on a track that sounds really 'interesting' and 'fun' - and end up with a plaque on the wall for a career they'll never really get any satisfaction from.

You need to keep your eye on what you want to achieve, and create a learning-plan from that - don't do it back-to-front. Stay focused on the end-goal and study for an end-result that'll reward you for many long and fruitful years. Seek advice from a skilled professional, even if there's a fee involved - it's usually much cheaper and safer to investigate at the start if a chosen track will suit, instead of discovering after several years of study that you aren't going to enjoy the job you've chosen and have to start from the beginning again.

Searching for your first position in IT can feel more straightforward if you're supported with a Job Placement Assistance service. At the end of the day it's not as hard as some people make out to find employment - as long as you've got the necessary skills and qualifications; the growing UK skills shortage sees to that.

Having said that, it's important to have help with your CV and interview techniques though; also we would encourage any student to work on polishing up their CV as soon as they start a course - don't procrastinate and leave it for when you're ready to start work. It's possible that you won't have even got to the exam time when you will be offered your first junior support role; but this can't and won't happen if interviewers don't get sight of your CV. Generally, you'll receive better results from a specialised and independent local recruitment service than any training company's national service, because they will understand the local industry and employment needs.

In a nutshell, if you put as much hard work into securing a position as into training, you won't have any problems. A number of students bizarrely invest a great deal of time on their training course and then call a halt once certified and seem to expect employers to find them.

Any program that you're going to undertake has to build towards a fully recognised major accreditation at the end - definitely not some 'in-house' diploma - fit only for filing away and forgetting. All the major IT organisations like Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA or Adobe each have nationally recognised proficiency programs. Major-league companies like these will make sure you're employable.

How can job security really exist anymore? Here in the UK, where business constantly changes its mind on a day-to-day basis, it seems increasingly unlikely. Security can now only exist through a rapidly increasing market, fuelled by a lack of trained workers. These circumstances create the right setting for market-security - a more attractive situation all round.

Using the computer sector for instance, a recent e-Skills study brought to light a national skills shortage in the country of over 26 percent. So, for each 4 job positions available around the computer industry, employers can only find enough qualified individuals for three of the four. This single reality in itself underpins why the UK urgently requires considerably more trainees to enter the IT sector. In reality, acquiring professional IT skills during the coming years is likely the finest career direction you could choose.

Sometimes people assume that the tech college or university track is still the best way into IT. So why then are commercial certificates slowly and steadily replacing it? The IT sector is now aware that to cover the necessary commercial skill-sets, the right accreditation from companies such as Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA most often has much more specialised relevance - at a far reduced cost both money and time wise. They do this by concentrating on the skill-sets required (together with a relevant amount of background knowledge,) instead of going into the heightened depths of background 'padding' that degree courses often do (because the syllabus is so wide).

Put yourself in the employer's position - and you required somebody who had very specific skills. Which is the most straightforward: Go through loads of academic qualifications from various applicants, asking for course details and which trade skills have been attained, or choose particular accreditations that perfectly fit your needs, and draw up from that who you want to speak to. You can then focus on how someone will fit into the team at interview - rather than on the depth of their technical knowledge.

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