Congratulations! Discovering this piece means you're likely to be wondering about where you're going, and if you're considering retraining then you've already got further than the majority of people will. Are you aware that a small minority of us are satisfied and happy at work - but the majority will do absolutely nothing about it. We encourage you to break free and do something - those who do hardly ever regret it.

Before we even think about individual training courses, seek out someone who can talk you through what to look for. Someone who can get an understanding of your personality, and discover what type of job will be right for you:

* Do you operate better working alone or is being in a team environment more important to you?

* Are you thinking carefully about which market sector you could be employed in? (Post credit crunch, it's essential to choose carefully.)

* Is this the last time you envisage re-training, and if so, do you believe this career choice will offer that choice?

* Are you confident that your chosen retraining is commercially viable, and will have the ability to be employed until your pension kicks in?

We would advise that one of your key sectors is Information Technology - it's common knowledge that it is one of the few growth sectors. It's not full of geeky individuals lost in their computer screens all day - it's true those roles do exist, but the majority of roles are carried out by Joe averages who are earning rather well.

Many companies only concern themselves with gaining a certificate, and avoid focusing on what it's all actually about - which will always be getting the job or career you want. Always start with where you want to get to - too many people focus on the journey. Don't let yourself become part of that group who select a program that on the surface appears interesting - and end up with a certification for a job they hate.

Stay tuned-in to where you want to get to, and then build your training requirements around that - don't do it back-to-front. Keep your eyes on your goals - making sure you're training for an end-result that will keep you happy for many years. It's good advice for all students to speak to experienced industry personnel before they make a decision on a particular training course. This gives some measure of assurance that it has the required elements for the career that is sought.

We need to make this very clear: It's essential to obtain proper 24x7 round-the-clock support from professional instructors. You'll definitely experience problems if you don't follow this rule rigidly. Always avoid training courses that only support trainees via a call-centre messaging service after office-staff have gone home. Colleges will always try to hide the importance of this issue. But, no matter how they put it - you want to be supported when you need the help - not when it suits them.

We recommend that you search for providers that utilise many support facilities around the globe in several time-zones. All of them should be combined to enable simple one-stop access and also access round-the-clock, when it's convenient for you, with no fuss. If you accept anything less than support round-the-clock, you'll end up kicking yourself. You might not want to use the service late in the night, but consider weekends, evenings and early mornings at some point.

Now, why might we choose qualifications from the commercial sector and not familiar academic qualifications taught at tech' colleges and universities? Industry now recognises that for mastery of skill sets for commercial use, the right accreditation from companies such as CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA often is more effective in the commercial field - saving time and money. Vendor training works through concentrating on the particular skills that are needed (together with a proportionate degree of background knowledge,) rather than covering masses of the background detail and 'fluff' that academic courses can get bogged down in (because the syllabus is so wide).

When an employer understands what areas they need covered, then all they have to do is advertise for someone with a specific qualification. Vendor-based syllabuses are all based on the same criteria and do not vary between trainers (as academic syllabuses often do).

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