Certification
Overview
Many technicians ask, why certification? The reasons
vary, but many people find that it provides technicians
with an industry recognized and valued credential. It can
help you get that foot in the door with either a
prospective employer or client. Additionally, it lets
others know your achievement level, that you have the
ability to get the job done right. Prospective employers
may use certification as either a condition for
employment or reward certifications earned with job
advancement or promotions.
CompTIA currently offers the A+ certification for
entry-level technicians, the Certified Document Imaging
Architech (CDIA) for individuals involved in
(Mastery-level) document imaging, and Network+, CompTIA's
newest industry-wide certification exam which deals with
networking technologies, and which launched on April 30,
1999. i-Net+, an exam dealing with Internet, Extranet and
Intranet technologies is in development for late 1999 /
early 2000.
The exams for A+, Network+, CDIA, (and soon for i-Net+),
identify the necessary skills for an individual to
perform their job competently and most important,
successfully.
Why Certification?
Why should your employees or you become certified? There
are many benefits, including:
- Recognized
proof of professional achievement -A level of
competence commonly accepted and valued by the
industry.
- Enhanced job
opportunities -Many employers give preference in
hiring applicants with certification. They view
this as proof that a new hire knows the
procedures and technologies required.
- Opportunity
for advancement -The certification can be a plus
when an employer awards job advancements and
promotions.
- Training
requirement -Certification may be required as a
prerequisite to attending a vendor's training
course, so employers will offer advanced training
to those employees who are already certified.
- Customer
confidence -As the general public learns about
certification, customers will require that only
certified technicians be assigned to their
accounts.
Benefits
The industry also gains benefits from the wide-spread
acceptance of certification credentials:
- Lower
training costs -Employers can save money and
increase productive work-time when vendors
eliminate redundant, time-consuming training, and
instead require certification as a prerequisite.
- Customer
satisfaction -When employers have a credential
that proves their competency, customer exceptions
are more likely met. More business may then be
generated for the employer through repeat sales
to these satisfied customers.
- Self-regulation
-Several states have proposed legislation that
would regulate the microcomputer industry. A
self-regulating industry that certifies its own
members with a program such as Network+, can
often minimize such government imposed controls.
|