Certification has become important to customers, vendors and employees alike. Just as the IT industry has experienced rapid growth, so too has the importance of having skilled individuals in a particular job role become even more critical. As a result, the ability to prove skills and specialties through certification programs has become essential to advancing IT careers, gaining benefits and increasing job stability.
For Lorretta Elias' career certification has certainly helped to advance the KPMG deskside technician. Elias, who is a certified Microsoft professional, says that, in addition to providing necessary skills, certification shows employers you are willing to learn, dedicated and can bring extra knowledge to the organization.
Elias is now thinking of doing the Microsoft Office specialist exam, the ITIL infrastructure management exam and CompTIA's security certification. Although these are not role-related, Elias believes they will stand her in good stead for the long term. She is quick to point out, however, that just having the certification is not enough. You need to have the practical experience too.
"IT job functions are now well defined and critical skills are required to attain the position. Those skills are assessed via the certification process," explains Heather Colless, BEA education manager, Australia and New Zealand. "IT certification also contributes to increased productivity within the project team, and gives managers a way to assess the skills (and skills gaps) of their teams. Partners in the ecosystem can inspire confidence in their customers when certified to implement other vendors' technologies, leading to increased new and repeat business."
Keith Ross-Jones, Fujitsu's DBA shared services manager, who has Oracle certification training, agrees. "Customers are increasingly choosing consultants with appropriate levels of certification, vendors are assured that their products are delivering and employees are more marketable," he says. "Clearly, it's a win-win situation all round."
Peter Durie, services manager, Red Hat Australia and New Zealand, is finding that many enterprises now require IT staff to earn at least RHCT or RHCE certification if they are setting up and managing Linux systems. "And those that have completed the certification find that the skills they acquire are very much in demand," he says. "It's a win-win for the companies and students. Students gain valuable skills and job security, while employers can be sure their staff have the competencies to complete quality work without the guess work."
Employers often find it a less risky option to employ an individual with a certification than one that does not," agrees Mannix Aylward, Volante's national manager of infrastructure solutions. "There is often a higher comfort level that the individual is capable of delivering on expectations. Customers have an expectation and often demand that they are engaging consultants with appropriate levels of certification, which inherently makes individuals with certifications more marketable," he says.
IT certification is a key requisite for Craig Stones, Kaz technology services' Citrix practice manager, who is a Microsoft, Novell and Citrix certified engineer. "If you're going after consulting business today, certification is essential to give you the skills and credibility in the marketplace," Stones says. "Clients get a far better experience if the workforce is trained on the latest technology and has the certifications to back that. As part of their commitment to vendors, companies also have to keep up the levels of their trained staff."
Holding certification is also essential in the quest to maximize opportunities for career advancement. Citrix-certified Robert Wilson, NetOptions' corporate sales and business development manager, believes this is important both for engineering and sales staff, especially where a consultative sales approach has long been the norm.
Wilson points out, however, that certification needs to be undertaken in a discretionary fashion. "Certification means time away from the office, client sites and answering phone calls; if this is with noncore vendors or on nonstrategic technologies this can mean a much larger investment than just the training and certification cost, with little or no return," he explains.
David Cleminson, Regal IT's principal technical consultant, who has Citrix, Microsoft and Cisco certifications, agrees. "The courses don't make you a guru, but they do give you an understanding of how systems work. When they run into issues, it is much easier to isolate them and deal with them. But, having the experience on top of that makes all the difference."
Cleminson says Regal IT doesn't hire staff unless it has proof that applicants have the certification and the experience.
Jae Bogadi, director, Oracle University Australia and New Zealand, says: "From an individual perspective, certification provides a measurable differentiation and validation of expertise in a given technology. With this difference, individuals have more access and opportunities in securing senior positions or garnering higher salaries. From an employer's perspective, certification provides a benchmark for IT managers when assessing the skills of potential hires. Combined with on-the-job experience, certification gives employers the confidence that an individual has the required training and expertise."
Real world
Although there is still room for advancement, it's widely agreed that certifications are becoming more real world- and performance-based. In its initial stages, exams required the candidates to retain knowledge and answer scenario-based, multiple-choice questions. While this is still the case with many certifications, vendors are recognizing the need to test a candidate's practical knowledge, too.
This can be seen with many of the Cisco certification exams. Novell offers a 'practicum' style exam, which tests configuration changes on a live server so the candidate can see the real effects of system changes. Citrix has a six-hour, hands-on lab exam that assesses the practical application of knowledge acquired from the four core CCIA (Citrix Certified Integrations Architect) courses as well as real-life experience; 35 percent of the exam involves systems verification and configuration. Red Hat's certifications also have practical, performance-based testing methods designed to prove competence at real- world challenges.
Ben English, technical audience lead, Microsoft Australia, said that Microsoft is seeing a year-on-year increase in the uptake of its certification programs. According to English, organizations are using certifications to provide a reliable means to plan and assess their readiness to implement IT strategies, while individuals are using them to help plan their personal development and maintain skills relevance in a fast-changing environment.
"The ways people learn have changed dramatically. Some people prefer more traditional classroom settings, while others prefer self-study using online solutions or books and other off-line tools," English says. "Microsoft recently launched a new structure to its certification program with the aim of increasing career possibilities and make IT professionals' and developers' jobs easier. The new certifications and courses have been designed to more practically match current IT job roles and the needs of hiring managers."
According to Edmondo Rosini, strategic alliance manager of Excom Education, one of the few providers of instructor-led training solutions, these credentials validate a comprehensive set of skills required to be successful on the job, far beyond simply learning the technology."
Skills include design, project management and planning, making these certifications real-world job-specific - just what employers are after," Rosini says. "The exams with these certifications have simulation-based examples to be performed. In all testing, moving forward by the main vendors is considered 'real world', so a combination of hands-on experience and authorized instructor-led training will best prepare them for the exam."
Globally recognized certifications are offered by most vendors including Microsoft, Cisco, Novell, Citrix, Check Point, CompTIA, BEA, Red Hat and Oracle. Vendor certification acknowledges an individual's competency on their [vendor] technology ranging from an entry-level position, for example Microsoft's MCDST (Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician), right through to the high-end engineer, such as Cisco's CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert).
Wireless certification
Wireless training specialist SpectroTech has three CWNP feature courses planned in wireless LAN specifics for May and June.Rick Murphy, an expert in radio frequency, networking and security technology, will lead the courses which are part of the Certified Wireless Network Professional (CWNP) series. Murphy, who was invited to rewrite the Certified Wireless Security Professional study guide, has updated the course material for the CWNA. The scheduled courses in 200 6 are:CWNA - Wireless LAN administration, Sydney, May 29 to June 2; CWSP - Wireless LAN security, Sydney, June 5 to 9; CWAP - Wireless LAN analysis, Sydney June 13 to 16.