Network and PC support workers are ever more sought after in the United Kingdom, as companies rely heavily on their technical advice and capacity to solve problems. Due to the progressively complex nature of technology, many more trained staff are being sought to specialise in the many areas we rely on.

Many training companies are still maintaining a now out-dated method of training - classroom attendance. Usually touted as a major benefit, following a chat with most students who've had to attend a couple, don't be surprised to be lectured on several if not most of the following problems:

* Recurrent travelling - quite a distance away a lot of the time.

* Monday to Friday access to workshops is the norm, and getting two to three days out of work causes a lot of problems for most working students.

* Holiday days lost - many trainees are given only twenty days of leave annually. If half or more of that is used up by training events, vacation time is going to be quite short for the family as a whole.

* Training workshops normally are over-subscribed, so we end up having to take something that we don't really want.

* You may prefer to move at a somewhat more suitable pace - rather than be dictated to by the rest of the class. Often this can bring about classic classroom tension.

* And let's not overlook the extra financial outlay of arranging transport and over-night accommodation either. This may well run to many hundreds of pounds more - sometimes thousands. Do the maths yourself - it'll shock and surprise you.

* Many attendees want their studies to remain private thus avoiding all management questions in their job.

* It's common to avoid posing questions while sitting with our fellow students - so we don't appear ignorant.

* Where students have to at times work or live away part of the time, imagine the increased difficulty in getting to the requisite classes, when time-off becomes even harder to obtain.

It obviously makes so much more sense to be trained at your convenience - not your training provider's - and employ instructor-led videos with interactive lab's. Whenever you experience difficulties, logon to the 24x7 support facility (that should've been packaged with any technical type of training.) Don't forget, if you have a laptop, study can take place anywhere. You can repeat the elements whenever you need to revise. And of course, you don't have to write any notes as you'll have direct access to the instruction whenever you want to go back to it. Though there's no way this can take away each and every issue, it certainly removes stress and makes things simpler. Plus you've got less travel, hassle and costs.

One useful service offered by some training providers is a Job Placement Assistance program. The service is put in place to help you get your first commercial position. In reality it isn't a complex operation to secure employment - as long as you've got the necessary skills and qualifications; employers in this country need your skills.

Whatever you do, don't leave it until you have finished your training before updating your CV. The day you start training, mark down what you're doing and get promoting! It's not unusual to find that you'll land your first position whilst you're still studying (even in the early stages). If your CV doesn't say what you're learning (and it's not being looked at by employers) then you don't stand a chance! If you'd like to keep travelling time and costs to a minimum, then it's quite likely that a local (but specialised) recruitment consultancy may be of more use than some national concern, for they are much more inclined to have insider knowledge of the local job scene.

A common aggravation of many training course providers is how much people are prepared to work to get qualified, but how un-prepared they are to work on getting the role they've trained for. Don't give up when the best is yet to come.

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