If you fancy being a web designer, then you need training in Adobe Dreamweaver. The entire Adobe Web Creative Suite should additionally be learned in-depth. This will mean you have knowledge of Flash and Action Script, (and more), and could lead on to the Adobe Certified Expert or Adobe Certified Professional (ACE or ACP) qualification.
Constructing a website is only the beginning of what's needed - to drive traffic to the site, maintain its content, and work on dynamic sites that are database driven, you will have to learn additional programming skills, for example HTML and PHP, and database engines like MySQL. It would also be a good idea to gain a practical knowledge of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and E-Commerce.
A valuable package of training will also include accredited exam preparation systems. Confirm that the practice exams haven't just got questions on the right subjects, but also asking them in the way the real exams will ask them. It really messes up students if the phraseology and format is completely different. Ensure that you test your knowledge by doing tests and mock ups of exams prior to taking the real deal.
A knowledgeable and practiced advisor (as opposed to a salesman) will want to thoroughly discuss your abilities and experience. There is no other way of establishing the starting point for your education. If you've got any live experience or some accreditation, you may find that your starting point is different from a beginner. For those students commencing IT study for the first time, you might like to break yourself in gently, kicking off with a user-skills course first. This can be built into any study program.
Commercial qualifications are now, very visibly, taking over from the traditional routes into the industry - why then is this happening? Accreditation-based training (to use industry-speak) is far more specialised and product-specific. The IT sector has realised that this level of specialised understanding is necessary to service the demands of an increasingly more technical workplace. Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe are the dominant players. Vendor training works by focusing on the skill-sets required (along with an appropriate level of associated knowledge,) as opposed to spending months and years on the background 'padding' that computer Science Degrees are prone to get tied up in (because the syllabus is so wide).
When an employer understands what areas they need covered, then they just need to look for someone with a specific qualification. Vendor-based syllabuses are all based on the same criteria and don't change between schools (in the way that degree courses can).
One area often overlooked by people weighing up a particular programme is the concept of 'training segmentation'. Essentially, this is the breakdown of the materials to be delivered to you, which completely controls where you end up. Often, you will join a program taking 1-3 years and get sent one module each time you pass an exam. While this may sound logical on one level, consider this: What if for some reason you don't get to the end of every section? And what if the order provided doesn't meet your requirements? Without any fault on your part, you mightn't complete everything fast enough and not get all the study materials as a result.
For the perfect solution, you'd ask for every single material to be delivered immediately - meaning you'll have all of them to come back to in the future - at any time you choose. You can also vary the order in which you attack each section if you find another route more intuitive.
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