Hi,
What a great debate this has sparked! In my job I get asked this kind of question a lot and the answer I give seems to work in the UK...
It is a fact in the UK that junior / trainee BA roles are hard to come by. Why?
Because most people migrate in to the role from IT or the business. I did. Most BAs I know did. So the advice I give is
1. build up your understanding of BA work (read the books etc - would not recommend training without any practical experience to put it in to context).
2. get a job involved with change projects in nay capacity (Project Management Office roles we have over here are a great place because you can get a job assisting project admin very easily and then you are involved with lots of projects).
3. volunteer for BA activities - when issues come up over requirements analysis offer to help etc. Prove you can add value by actually adding value.
4. Either when you have established a track record and a vacany comes up within that organisation go for it or update your cv to reflect that you have been doing BA work even if your job title was not that and apply for other BA roles in other organisations.
My company also does recruitment and the top three things employers look for are (in decending priority order)
1. experience of doing BA - and a very strong preference for that experience to be in the business sector the job is in. As a BA myself this is frustrating as it just isn't needed and can actually be harmful but that's how it is. That's what the customer (wrongly) wants.
2. a degree in a 'hard' subject such as computing or maths - not art
3. relevant professional qualification (and this is almost always expressed as a nice to have)
Items 2 and 3 on that list have never been sufficient in my experience.
Good luck!
Guy