Training and IT consultancy company Blue Screen IT Ltd is a CTP preferred supplier and ELCAS authorised provider, number 1841. It delivers regular technical IT courses from its training centre based in Plymouth; it also delivers training to HQ ARRC in Germany, SHAPE in Belgium and PJHQ in Northwood.

The company is a Microsoft Gold Partner and holds other partnerships with training vendors such as CompTIA, Cisco, Check Point and EC-Council, as well as providing a wide range of technical IT courses for the military and civilian market.

Blue Screen has been providing resettlement and ELC-funded training since 2004. It has built a reputation for practical hands-on training, which, combined with its wide range of equipment and many practical labs, helps delegates develop skills while on its courses. Blue Screen believes that this builds greater competency and confidence in a shorter time than self-study, or less practical or PowerPoint-based training.

Its training includes published courseware, and exams that delegates can take at Blue Screen’s exam suite whenever they like. Free refresher courses are also offered. Its trainers are IT professionals and are seconded to their IT consultancy division when not teaching. The consultancy specialises in advanced network infrastructure, network and data security, virtualisation and compliance. This keeps the consultants up to date and fresh for their training deployments. Almost half the technical team is composed of ex-Service personnel, so they understand what the delegates are going through.

For further information, contact Neil Johnson on 0845 49 00 465, email info@bluescreenit.co.uk or visit the website at http://www.bluescreenit.co.uk.
See advertisement on page 19

 

 

 

 

Established for over 13 years, Southstep Training (ELC 3229) is dedicated to providing the most up-to-date courses in today’s market in an easy and simple format that allows our students to learn in a comfortable environment such as one of our training centres or from their own home. We supply over 1,000 different IT training courses, all with similar infrastructure that is not dependent on the difficulty of the course.

 

Online training
Most of the training material is based online; the learning material has been broken down so that it is easier to learn via training simulations, interactive labs, reading materials and practical tasks.
We offer three streams of support that all students will receive; this is designed to assist our students if they encounter any problems while undertaking the courses.
1. Online/email support: this is to help students with basic questions on course enquiries and login problems, plus supplying mock exams and assisting with booking official examinations.
2. Personal tutor free phone support: this is the personal dedicated tutor (PDT), assigned to each of our students; they help with course content and technical queries.
3. 24/7 Gold Partnership free phone support: this is our UK-based telephone support service, available 24/7. It assists with technical queries, so students can carry on learning without interruption at any time.
The majority of our training packages are inclusive of official examinations for the specific qualifications. We will provide mock exam papers and feedback, to enable the maximum chance of a student passing first time – however, if the student does not pass first time, many of our packages also include free resits.
If there is a particular course you are interested that does not appear to be available, please contact us, as there is a good chance that we will be able to provide it.

 

Classroom training
Our classroom training is provided in training centres in the UK, by our qualified tutors. We offer students a comprehensive understanding of PC hardware, software, configuring/troubleshooting and networking, e.g. using the exchange server, active directory, providing preventative maintenance, administering security, etc.

In addition to the classroom training, you will receive all our online training for your chosen course plus extra personal support throughout your training. All our classroom packages include examinations plus resits.

For more information visit www.Southstep.co.uk, or call 0800 599 99 98.

 

See the advertisement on page 18

 

 

 

 

According to a report on website ComputerworldUK, it really does pay for high-tech workers to be certified. The report, which refers to research conducted by Dice Learning, highlights ten IT certifications that stand out in terms of delivering higher salaries.

Evan Lesser, director of Dice Learning, which offers technical training and information about certifications and career advancement, confirms, ‘When you combine in-demand skill sets and proven salary impact, specific certifications become valuable to individual technology professionals.’

Dice Learning studied responses from some 17,000 high-tech professionals to determine which technical skills and IT certifications deliver more compensation and help workers command higher salaries (e.g. those certified as Project Management Professionals could demand more pay on the job and such workers seeking employment might find more positions open to them).

Other certifications that were found to help IT professionals increase their compensation are vendor-specific. Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs), Microsoft Certified Systems Administrators (MCSAs) and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers (MCSEs) all feature on the list, underlining that high-tech workers who have certification that shows they are adept in Microsoft systems and associated skills will be in demand.
 

Those IT professionals trained as Cisco Certified Network Associates (CCNAs) are also seeing higher remuneration, according to this research. And, offered by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), Network+ certification is also in demand. In addition, security certifications such as Security+ from CompTIA and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) also command higher salaries. And process skills could also spell higher pay, the research highlights: ITIL certification, for example, demonstrates that IT professionals have studied best practices and can apply them to an employer’s IT service management system.

To find out more about careers in computing and IT, and the types of certification mentioned in this story, turn to our feature on page 16.

 

 

 

 

The website for senior IT professionals, ComputerWeekly.com, recently reported on the latest Scottish Technology Industry Survey, which revealed that the Scottish IT sector will recruit more than 1,000 IT graduates this year, and sales and marketing workers in IT will see the most opportunities. (The survey was commissioned by IT industry body ScotlandIS and 9-20 recruitment.)

A total of 63% of the Scottish IT companies surveyed said that they would hire more people this year. None of these companies was expecting to cut staff, while the other 37% thought staffing levels would stay the same.
Sales and marketing are the most sought-after skills in the IT sector at the moment. Software and web development expertise are also in high demand, with the majority of these positions likely to be filled with permanent staff.

‘The software and ICT sector is one of the Scottish economy’s hidden assets and has been less damaged [than other sectors] by recent economic difficulties,’ says Polly Purvis, executive director at ScotlandIS. ‘We are encouraged by the optimism reflected in this year’s survey, which suggests the industry responded promptly to the recession, and is now recruiting again, poised for growth.’

Workers earning between £23,000 and £35,000 are the most sought-after employee group. Of the technical skills in demand, Web 2.0 marketing skills topped the list, with 17% citing these skill sets as being in demand. Next most in demand were .Net, Java, Project Lifecycle and Sharepoint skills, in that order.
To find out more about careers in computing and IT, turn to our feature on page 16.

 

 

 

 

Demand for ICT professionals is growing, according to the latest Technology Demand and Supply report from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). The report shows increased demand for SQL, C#, .NET and Linux skills. Demand for these four skill sets has been growing for the past two quarters.

Jeff Brooks, chair of REC Technology, says: ‘Our members are showing increasing confidence in the sector … It is very encouraging to see that companies will still invest in technology to develop their businesses even when there is a tough economic landscape.’

We will be looking at careers in computing and IT in the next issue of Quest.