I have absolutely no IT experience and am looking for a job in an IT related industry – how do I find what training I need? You need to decide what vendor products you are going to specialise in, i.e. Microsoft, Novell, Apple, Linux, Oracle, and whether you are most interested working with networks, databases, websites or programming so that you can establish what would be the best training to take. But meanwhile CompTIA do some basic, vendor- neutral courses that will give you a grounding to work up from towards job qualifications. I’ve been given the task of joining my company machines together on a network, I have no experience, what training would I need? You may need to start with a CompTIA A+ course will give you a firm base of knowledge to build on – you can then move on to a course specific to the vendor software you are going to run your network on. What training would be beneficial to assist me in maintaining a new network that has been built by external consultants? Firstly what vendor software do you want to maintain? Then look at courses that will take you up to the level of a systems administrator. This will give you the knowledge and confidence you need to look after your systems and will also be the perfect foundation for improving your skills to engineer level later if you want to. Some examples for specific systems are: If it’s Novell NetWare 6.5 you might want to look at Certified Novell Administrator (CNA) courses starting with N3016. If it’s Microsoft Windows Server 2003, work towards the Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator qualification (MCSA), perhaps starting with course M2273. If it’s Linux you might want to look at Novell Suse Linux courses starting with N3071, or attending Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT) courses with our partners. This will give you the knowledge and confidence you need. I’ve been running a Microsoft Server 2003 network reasonably successfully, but I’m not sure that I’m doing everything right, what would help me? Work towards the MCSE qualification, perhaps starting with M2273. This will give you the knowledge and confidence you need. A Network Health Check run by ITS may also be helpful, we can let you know if you’ve got any major problems and put your mind at ease while you train up. I am an experienced CNE running an efficient network, but considering moving to Microsoft. Where do I start? A visit from one of our experienced consultants to review your network may be useful before making a decision. If you do decide to make the change, we can help you achieve MCSE status or arrange customised training to help your team make the transfer smoothly. I’m running a mixed environment. Microsoft on the desktop and Novell on the back end. I need training for my staff but all the vendor courses seem only to concentrate on how to do it their way. What’s the best way forward? We are lucky to have some very experienced and qualified cross-platform trainers and consultants on board and often provide customised courses for people in exactly this situation. A favourite request being combined XP and ZENworks courses. Come and talk to us about your needs and we can work out something customised just for your skills and aimed at your environment. We can even deliver it onsite for you if you like. If you have any questions about courses, certification paths or customised training come and talk to us, we’d be happy to help. Contact us on 0870 145 1606 or email training@itsgroup.org.uk