Not so long ago, in an industry not so far away there was a phenomenon called certification. In its early years it caught on like wild fire and millions pursued certification with vigor. The benefits were often landing new jobs, promotions or acceptance into lucrative technology vendor reseller programs. Hiring organizations used certification as an important selection criterion. Having been involved with the IT certification industry for more than 12 years I can unequivocally state that the certification landscape has changed. For some it has changed for the worse but for academia at large it has changed for the better.

So what has happened? Has the demand for IT certification changed? Does certification still have as much value as it used to? Here are a few trends to consider.

First, the demand for any certification is a function of the technology or topic that is in demand. When IT certification was just beginning, new, revolutionary technologies were being introduced into the market. Namely Novell networking operating system software. It was truly a breakthrough technology which sold faster than it could be produced. With this incredible market demand for Novell NetWare came the need for training and qualified support professionals both in- and outside Novell itself. Thus, certification was born. As NetWare became more and more popular, so grew the demand for qualified administrators, support professionals and users. Certification became the key to ensure that those people could actually do what they said they could - a powerful tool and a great idea. With the rate of technological change ever increasing the demand for training and skills certification is as high as ever. This is evidenced by the sheer number of certifications available to learners.

Second, with market maturity and the initial success of the first certification programs, new vendors introduced their technologies with their accompanying certification programs. The IT market now consists of a wide variety of programs from which to choose. With the original CNE program by Novell a candidate, the choice was simple - CNE was "the" essential certification that would ensure success in an IT career. But as the rate of heterogeneous networks increased, so arose the need to become cross certified by multiple venders. Unfortunately, more certifications are needed to prove proficiency. This requires IT workers to keep up with the latest developments in technology and continually "prove" that their technical skills are up-to-date. The bottom line is that the average IT worker cannot get by with just one certification - they will more than likely need two or three.

Third, an IT skills gap still exists between the number of skilled workers and the number of unfilled technical jobs. What that means is that those IT professionals who have the skills are most likely already employed. In the beginning these same individuals needed to learn new technologies to get their jobs. Since everything was so new back then, commercial training centers and boot camps popped up to meet the demand for timely technical training. Now the critical mass of IT workers has been trained, certified and have several years of work experience. Although the employed need to keep up with new technologies the demand for IT training and certification has shifted to new entrants into the IT workforce.

This has created enormous opportunity for academic institutions to prepare new IT workers. With the pent up demand for immediate technical training largely met, academic institutions are reaping the benefits of preparing students for IT certifications - benefits which were once largely enjoyed by commercial training centers.

The good news is 1) demand for technical training and certification is up, 2) breadth of topics needed is greater than ever, 3) learners are increasingly not those already employed in IT careers, but new entrants and career changers who need to provide proof of knowledge and skill to get a job, and 4) there is a marked shift in where learners are obtaining their training and the amount of time they have to acquire the information. When you combine those trends with initiatives like "No Child Left Behind" or common skill standards in the European Union, schools everywhere will be impacted.

Although IT certification has evolved, it is still part of a greater movement of skills assessment, credentialing and certification. Academic institutions will continue to play an increasingly important role in servicing the training and certification needs of students for the foreseeable future.

Buckle yourselves in! It looks like quite a ride ahead of us.

Quinn Sutton
-Editor

Let us know what you think. Have something to add? Please submit your comments to: pr@testout.com