CompTIA A+ (220-1101 and 220-1102 Core Series)

In a nutshell

CompTIA is the world's largest vendor-neutral IT certification body. The CompTIA A+ course has been specially designed for individuals looking to start a career in the IT sector.

By the end of this course, you’ll become a confident problem solver, with the capability of supporting current core technologies from cloud and security to data management.

Whether you are an IT Technician looking to update your existing knowledge, or a complete novice looking to move into the IT industry for the first time, this course is suited for you.

This course is available as part of a Personal Learning Account (PLA). PLA is an initiative from the Welsh Government which offers people the chance to access free, part-time courses with flexible and convenient learning that fits around their existing lifestyle (subject to eligibility).

This course is for...

... anyone aged 19 +, living in Wales and in employment. The usual salary limit of £29,534 does not apply to this course.

... taking the next step in your career in the IT sector

... anyone looking to start or further their career in IT

Course content

Key learning points in the course include:

• Laptops, desktop PCs, smartphones, tablets, wearables, e-readers, GPS
• Windows 10, 7, 8, 8.1, Android, iOS, Linux, Mac OS X, Chrome OS
• Mobile device network connectivity, application support and device synchronization
• Networking hardware devices (Routers, switches, access points, cloud-based network controller, PoE, etc.)
• Networked hosts, server role, Internet appliances, legacy systems
• PC hardware tools and components, BIOS/UEFI settings, solid state drives (M2, NVME, SATA 2.5), RAID 10, hot swappable storage configurations
• Custom PC configurations including virtualization workstations and NAS devices
• Sharing multifunction devices and printers via OS settings, wired and wireless connections, 3D printing
• Logical security concepts, Active Directory security settings, software tokens, MDM policies, MAC address filtering, certificates, VPN, DLP, email filtering
• Security protocols and encryption (WEP, WPA, WPA2, TKIP, AES), authentication methods (single-factor, multifactor, RADIUS, TACACS), security threat identification and prevention
• Privacy concerns and policies (PII, PCI, GDPR, PHI)

Entry Requirements

It is recommended for you to have 9 to 12 months hands-on experience in the IT field or to have achieved the CompTIA IT Fundamentals (IFT+) before starting on this course.

Additional information

This course is delivered by eLearning. This means that you should be motivated to study in a self-paced, self-organised manner using an internet enabled device.

The course includes two exams which are invigilated online and you need to have access to an internet enabled device with a microphone and a webcam.