I Have studied for 2 and a half years with skills train and am preparing for my CCNA having passed my network exam a year ago.

My studies and closeness to completing my CCNA has meant that I have changed Jobs and careers and now work on an IT Help Desk for Christians Against Poverty. I've just completed my 2nd week.

Keep reading reading and reading. Take it all in and when you're ready apply for lots of jobs.

I now know it was all worth it!!!!

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I have now began to run my own IT consultancy and repair business. I am not going to say it has been easy, but thanks to the tutors at SkillsTrain, it has been easier than expected, due to the training support offered. I stood little chance of employment on the open job market due to my many medical problems, and family commitments to my disabled son, but now two years down the line, I am once again financially sound and it's all thanks to SkillsTrain. I can't thank you enough for the support and encouragement provided by the staff and tutors, May I wish everyone more success for the future and May you continue to go from strength to strength, as I myself have done.

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It is easy to be cynical about success stories and write them off as cock-and-bull stories that give false hope to an audience starved of excitement. Although there May be some truth to this idea, to believe it would very unfair. I am writing to you today to tell you about my story which started out as a romantic dream but ended in me fulfilling my goal through a divine twist of a fate and not a lifetime of hard labour.

I came to the United Kingdom with the distinct disadvantage of being an unskilled foreigner with no network of friends, colleagues or mentors. I came across the SkillsTrain training programme by pure accident and if not for my husband's intervention I would not even have enrolled.

Three kids, many tears and buckets of sweat later and after some fantastic encouragement, late nights and unconscious effort, things have finally paid off. I am on my final section of the CIW certification, soon to write my exams and I have just received the best news. Thanks to my studies I have already received a much needed promotion which has allowed me to be involved in web development tasks within my company. This has allowed me to take an active part in updating web pages for our intranet using varying technologies with my new found skills. This Christmas, I am getting a fantastic increase and bonus as well. I am so excited and could not be more thrilled.

When anybody is working towards a target, whether it's losing weight or training for a marathon or studying towards a qualification, it helps to focus on the ultimate goal. It is easy to lose sight of your dream and veer off the road you're travelling on. I sincerely hope that my success story works its magic in an inspiring way, encouraging others to persevere and never give up. Remember; it will ultimately be worth it in the end!

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As I'm looking through the children's Christmas present list no longer do I have to worry about the growing credit card bill. I've just sold my first web site and the money is going to go a long way.

My journey began last year when I made the best decision of my life and decided to hop on the skills train. My previous background was in education but I only had some minor IT qualifications so learning web design from scratch was going to be a challenge. But with the expertise and support of my tutor team, clear teaching resources and a few hours a week from me, I have made good progress.

Now a year later I'm capable of designing highly marketable websites.

I'm now designing the website for my neighbour's business and the local Indian takeaway and I'm paid well. Anyone who has a business wants a website so the customer base is endless.

My new skills are in demand as I've been contacted to run evening classes in computing and web design. In January I'm doing this two nights a week which is allowing me to afford my new car payments.

I look back to last Christmas, working for other people, being under appreciated, under paid and overworked. Now I look to the future as shortly I will be able to hand in my resignation from my day job and work from home as a web designer. Nothing is going to give me greater pleasure.

So it's going to be a very merry Christmas for all my family and a new year with endless possibilities.

I cannot understand why I didn't do the course earlier!

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This year of studying with skills train has been unbelievable, I could never imagined that when I enrolled last year that my life would change in more ways than I imagined.

When I enrolled last year I explained my situation with the skillstrain advisor. I was undergoing the final stages of my treatment for a brain tumour, and had undergone surgery, radiotherapy and six months of chemotherapy. I wanted something to take my mind off of my situation, and give me some goals for the coming year, and a skillstrain course seemed an ideal way to progress.

For the last year |I have been managing my study with my job (although only part time as I still get very fatigued), and I admit it has been a struggle juggling work, with hospital visits and studying, and in August this year I was taken back into hospital after a relapse.

Throughout this however my concentration on my study has I feel got me through some of these dark times, and waiting for my latest TMA result gave me something to aim for.

My Progress I admit May not be as fast as some other students, because of my situation, however I am soldiering on and look forward to every new part of my course.

My Latest Scans show I'm am in remission and I have every intention of making up for lost time, So Thank you once again Skills Train and here's to 2009!.

Yours faithfully

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Studying with SkillsTrain is going to make this end of year even better than the last because I have been offered placement on web design & development projects in which I never would have been invited if I didn't gain the amount of skills that I have developed on the CIW Web Design manager course.

I have also been able to help university students to gain more skills and understand their work because of the skills gained on the CIW course.

I was also told by a Dr in my local university that next year I could enrol into their Bsc (Hons) Computer Science and Software engineering course directly into the second or third year of the degree because of the skills that I have already developed. That is excellent as I've always wanted to go to university but did not want to go for the entire 3 or 4 years of a degree.

Thanks to Skillstrain, I can now get a degree in just 1 or 2 years. Studying with SkillsTrain will definitely make this end of year even better than the last!

Thank you Skillstrain!

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I always wanted to work in IT field, therefore after I finished University in Poland, where I studied IT, I decided to move to UK. My dream was to get a good IT job with possibilities to learn something new. I soon realised that knowledge I gathered during my studies doesn't meet minimum required to start any serious IT job. I searched and applied for many positions with no replies, so I had to take a job irrelevant to my interest.
I realised then, that my dream will not come true unless I do something about it.. I decided to find a course which allows me develop my skills and move forward. It wasn't easy, as most of the courses available were too expensive and classes time was not convenient - I had to work. I didn't see myself as a full time student and an employee at the same time, but I kept looking and filled up some course applications.
I got a phone call one day, from some college, they asked me questions about my current situation, interests and my plans for the future. We arranged a meeting where I was explained a flexible on-line studying and very suitable payment system. I was given an advice which course I should choose and what my career steps should be. I decided to join The Skills Train College.
I started to study for the CompTia A+ certification. I really enjoyed studying, and after I passed my first certificate, I noticed that this course filled some gaps in my knowledge and here actually I was learning something what I could practice and use resolving every day issues.
I started to apply for IT jobs again, and one day received a phone call from a company where I sent a job application form to. They invited me for an interview. The position I applied for was IT Support Assistant. I got this job! and I must say - I have realised that I'm finally on my way. Just a few months later I passed the second certificate - CompTia N+.
Currently I am working as 2nd line support technician. Studying helps me to face new challenges at work, be more confident, creative and helpful. Every day I resolve issues using backgrounds from A+ and N+ courses. People value my opinion and I am becoming a technical expert as I have always wanted to be.
I am on the third and the last level of my courses choice - CCNA, but I already know that I'm going to continue my journey with The Skills Train as I have found more interesting courses. Information technology is a field where we can always explore new technologies. This is one of the reasons which makes it so exiting. I have finally found the right place which shows me the way and gives sources to do it.
The Skills Train College not only allows me to achieve recognised certificates therefore get better job, but most importantly makes my dreams come true.
I have and I will recommend this College to all of my friends who want to start or continue their IT career.
Thank you Skills Train.

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Since passing my CompTiaA+ exam in 2007,My Skilstrain A+/N+ course has helped me to secure my first temporary IT contract (IT Support Administrator)with a major international accountancy firm at their Glasgow office and has increased the number of job interviews and calls from employers about job applications.
I hope to secure my next IT contract soon thanks to Skillstrain.

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Just got promotion with current employer. Job involves creating a dedicated network and creating web sites, something that would not have been possible without the course and information I have gained whilst studying with the skills train. Although I am not yet half way through the course the company has realized that offering me the job will save money and the cost of training another person up. Promotion also includes a pay rise which given the current economic climate will make this Christmas a more relaxed and enjoyable time of year.

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It all started on day that SkillsTrain offered me a chance to change my life, which was what I was looking for by then, what I didn't know was which way to turn, and then You came along and showed me the way, I was working as line technician, of a food processing company on the night shift, when every night it was even more difficult to get up from bed than the other one and I kept telling myself I have to change this, all I needed to do is be patient now it wouldn't be much longer because I've already started studying.

And so, I changed my curriculum vitae with the Skills that I have now, applied for a couple of new jobs and from 5 months ago I'm working as IT support. And thanks to SkillsTrain that showed me the way, this Christmas is definitely a better Christmas, actually my Christmas started early.

But this is not my goal yet, if I May I wonder if there is software developer course or programmer course so that once more you can lead the way, because I want to be a developer.

Thanks SkillsTrain.

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My story is a big one. I was a heroin addict for 8 years and after seeing life at its most low for that time I knew I needed to get out. so I did and now I have an exciting new job in IT and have just finished my last TMA on my first book of the N+ course. This will be a great Xmas this year as I have a positive future ahead of me. 2 years clean and a good career, for me life could not be any better. Thank you all very much

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Over the past years I have been studying since successfully completing my A+ Certification, I have been selected for the role of Head Technician and manager of an IT company . This has unfortunately taken me away from studying more of the skillstrain course, but if it was not for this course I am sure I would have not got there.

I was offered this role over colleagues that have been employed in the technician role and have been with the company for many years before myself, however, this achievement was made possible due to the understanding of computer maintenance and repair that I have gained from carrying out courses via Skills Train and my determination to succeed. Very hard for promotion at work. One of my key tasks was to pass my A+ and N+ exams to help put a case forward for promotion. In March 2008 I passed both external exams to certify as an A+ IT Technician and now have the certificate on my wall at work. Then to make things even better I sat and passed my Comptia N+ exam in February and am now awaiting that certificate to go alongside my A+ one. My manager has just said he is going to support my case for promotion and fingers crossed it will be made true these coming months. All of this is down to the course materials received from Skillstrain making the studying a lot easier with excellent course materials.

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Pastures New! Promotion! Career! Prospects!

All words I'd come to forget 2 years ago! I was out of work, fast approaching 30 with 2 young children and my elderly grandmother to care for and had lost my lustre for life believing it to have past me by! I needed direction! It came in the form of skillstrain. A chance stop at the skillstrain website one evening, a single phone call, a single visit from an caring and knowledgeable skillstrain agent and I was on the road to recovery! I started studying on the 1st January with a new year's resolution to improve my life and thereby also improving those lives around me. With little IT background I was correctly advised to learn from the ground up with the excellent A+ with which I gained a solid understanding of the inner workings of a PC and the peripherals that went with one, hey now I can count in binary:0) I started to enjoy life once more and threw myself into study, while incorporating the school run, shopping, caring for my grandmother etc.. In this time I also got a part time job in a warehouse, it wasn't much but too me it was a big stepping stone to the future. Midway through the year I began the N+ and now things were hotting up and getting more difficult however this just made me more determined to study harder. During this time I was sending of tma's regularly and during the N+ getting more wrong than right! But with the excellent tutoring provided by the college staff via both phone, e-mail and notes made on the tma's I systematically improved and re-took any unsuccessful tma's until I got them right and more importantly understood where I had gone wrong.
So that brings me onto this year. How has skillstrain improved my life this year? Well at the start of the year I was still working in the warehouse and had just moved onto studying CCNA. I had been slowly gaining my confidence back and at this point, felt proud enough of myself to start sending out CV's and trying to sell myself and the new knowledge I had gained. It all came together in April this year, when I got an interview for a firstline systems helpdesk analyst. I was thrilled just to be getting an interview for this type of role, remembering how far I'd come. I got a call back for a second interview, where the IT manager was very impressed with the A+ and N+ on my CV and pleased to hear how the CCNA was coming along. A phone call later on the same day confirmed I'd got the job and beaten off some more experienced interviewees. The reason was simple, I had studied with a recognised institute in the IT field and that speaks volumes. All the same I realised the company has gone out on a limb employing someone with little real world experience, although the training at skillstrain is as close as you can get! So I threw myself into work as I had my studying and began to impress, which wasn't that hard because I'd had the best training and experience. I began feel comfortable using my learned knowledge and adding it to my new skills being learnt every day. After each day when work was over and I had made dinner for the children and bathed and put them too bed, I still made time to study, even for just a short while, not wanting to lose momentum even for a moment.
I began the second half of my CCNA midway through the year, all the time working as an analyst in a citrix environment dealing with basic password resets etc.. I knew if I kept at my study it would once again pay off.......It did! Recently our company has merged with another who provides managed services and now my company has formed a new Networking helpdesk called Service Management Centre (SMC) on which I have been promoted too as an Incident Manager (firstline escalation/2nd line), so will now be using my networking and CCNA skills on a daily basis.
When I think how far I've come from last year to this year and now from this year to next year, I wonder where I'll be in years to come.
From unemployed and unemployable, to Incident manager in 2 years.

Thank you Skills-Train and all the college staff involved who made it happen (you know who you are:0)

Merry Xmas and a Happy prosperous new year to all!

PS thank you also to all the inspirational stories wrote by skills-train students, I still take time to read them occasionally when I lose motivation, it never fails to put me back on the right path again:0)

PPS For those that have read this far;) I intend to take my CCNA final exam by February and will more than likely be knocking on skills-trains door asking about another course!

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