Microsoft Certifications are More Important than
Ever!
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Certifications and read the Microsoft Certification White
Paper below ...
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Certification is Key to developing and validating
the skills IT professionals need to maximize their value to
organizations
Individuals drive certification decisions 70-80
percent of the time
The current economic climate is having a substantial impact on
how organizations view their IT investments. While cost cutting is
one way of addressing budgetary issues, companies that are
successfully navigating the economy are more interested in
leveraging the maximum efficiency from their existing assets, with
IT as one of the most powerful tools to achieve those goals.
LeaderQuest is assisting individuals gain these in
demand skills so companies can reach these goals.
IDC reports that companies are initiating IT projects to improve
operational efficiencies. According to its 2007 Performance Impact
Study, team skill is the biggest determinant of project success.
Projects that met most or all of their objectives had twice the
amount of trained professionals as those projects that achieved
only partial success. IDC's study revealed that IT teams with more
than 50 percent of the team holding relevant certifications show
15-17 percent improvement in capabilities.[1]
These findings place a high value on IT skills, and yet there
continues to be a serious IT skills shortage. According to a
Gartner study,[2] 40 percent of operational
downtime is due to operator error-attributable to a significant
lack of training on core systems. At the same time, number
of undergraduate computer science majors fell by 40 percent
between 2000 and 2004, and there has been a 70 percent decline in
interest in pursuing the major.[1] IDC
estimates the gap between the demand for and supply of IT
professionals with the right technical skills in the next five to
ten years will be 40 percent.[2]
This means there's a significant opportunity for individuals to
get certified, especially during the economic downturn-and the
decision to pursue certification is being driven by individual IT
professionals, not organizations. Seventy-eighty percent of people
attending IT training classes say they, not their managers, made
the decision to attend, 85 percent chose their own coursework based
on their career path, and 87 percent pay for their own training.[3]
Of all the IT professionals who take training at a CPLS
(Certified Partner Learning Solutions) like LeaderQuest, 20 percent
are there specifically for certification[4]
and Microsoft anticipates that level to climb over the next several
months.
IDC anticipates that the shortage of IT skills will accelerate
corporate training initiatives, providing training organizations
more opportunities as long as they link training with a successful
return on
investment.[5]
Experience versus certification
Which is better: knowledge or experience? Today,
IT professionals need an optimal balance of both.
Experienced professionals tend to be highly proficient at the
skills they use every day, but don't necessarily have the broader
perspective certification provides to deal with new or unusual
situations.
People who are certified, but have little or no experience, have
the knowledge to understand a wide range of situations, but lack
the proficiency to execute efficiently. And while new
performance-based testing gets them part of the way, it's no
substitute for experience.
IT organizations need professionals who have the right balance
of agility that certification provides and experience to accomplish
the job quickly and efficiently.
For individuals that want to significantly differentiate
themselves from their peers, developing and validating their skills
through certification has never been more important.
For IT professionals, Microsoft training and certification ranks
second as a satisfaction driver (after eLearning).[1] Individuals
who are certified earn on average two-and-a-half certifications per
year.
Individuals, both with and without IT job experience need to
understand the value certification can bring to their careers.
The value of certification
- Relevance - Microsoft certification reflects
and validates real-world skills and job-related experiences used
every day, aiding in practical technology problem-solving and
improving the professional performance.
- Journey - Microsoft certification adds value
across all stages of an individual's career path, so it is valuable
for job seekers, new and advanced skill building, and upward career
growth.
- Community - Earning Microsoft certification
provides access to valuable, exclusive Microsoft resources and
benefits, and opportunities to connect with a wide network of
certified professionals.
Fifty-five percent of hiring managers consider employee
certification as a criterion for hiring, while 46 percent consider
certification a criterion for promotion. Forty percent of
individuals reported that Microsoft certification was a factor in
improving their ability to find or keep a job, or led to a
promotion, and 43 percent reported salary increases as a result of
Microsoft certification.
Four key messages about training and
certification for individuals
Certification improves
employability
IT hiring managers know certified professionals
help their organizations.
A study[1] conducted by IDC looked at the
organizational performance of 5,540 IT teams and found that 65
percent of managers believe that certification improves the level
of service and support offered to IT end users, and that the top
performing IT teams have on average between 40 and 55 percent
certified Microsoft members trained on relevant technologies and
processes. They also found that team performance rises every time a
team member earns certification, so there's a direct and positive
impact on organizational performance as a result of
certification.
IT managers are also concerned with the "knowledge leak" that
occurs due to staff turnover, promotions, and changing
technologies.[2] Certification ensures that
organizations retain the skills they need.
For individuals who are looking for their first IT jobs, there
are a number of key entry-level Microsoft Certified Technology
Specialist (MCTS) certifications that will improve their
employability (see sidebar on page 6).
Seasoned professionals are looking for ways to make themselves
more valuable to their organization so they can keep their job or
earn a promotion. The focus for IT professionals could be MCTS
certifications to develop skills on new technologies or Microsoft
Certified IT Professional (MCITP) and Microsoft Certified
Professional Developer (MCPD) to take their skills to new
levels.
No matter where a person is on his or her career path,
certification makes them as relevant to their organization as
possible by developing and validating new skills.
Certification differentiates you from the
crowd
Certified individuals are more valuable team
members.
Certified professionals can troubleshoot better, are more
effective and more productive. In the IDC study, overall
individuals with certification were more valuable to the
organization. "Tests of general ability and certifications are
strongly correlated to divergent thinking abilities, suggesting
that individuals who achieve success with these measures cope
better with changing work roles and are more adaptive and
innovative."[3]
In a 2006 customer satisfaction survey conducted for Microsoft,
63 percent of hiring managers felt certified professionals were
more productive than their non-certified peers. And a 2007 survey[4] reported
that 38 percent of MCPs surveyed (up from 32 percent a year
earlier) felt their ability to be more productive on the job was
directly attributable to certification.
Certified professionals stand to gain higher pay as well as
being viewed as more productive and valuable.
According to Redmond Magazine's 2006 survey of
compensation for Microsoft IT professionals, 43 percent of
respondents reported a salary increase as a result of Microsoft
certification.
Differentiation means more today than simply being better than
the person working in the same department. As companies have been
outsourcing more development overseas, there has been an increasing
emphasis in those countries, especially India, on employee
certifications as a means for building confidence with clients and
proving their expertise.[5] So as competition
for work has become global, certification as a differentiator takes
on a broader aspect.
Certification makes you part of a
larger community
Microsoft Certified Professionals form a unique
community with Microsoft as its hub.
The most significant benefit of membership in the community is
the access to a group of like-minded professionals who can act as
resources to each other and provide support on a professional
level. Through direct communication with individuals in the
community, people can raise issues with the program, communicate
new ideas to Microsoft, and work together to increase the
satisfaction of the structure and content of Microsoft
certification.
Certified professionals have access to variety of unique
resources, like professional tools and opportunities (e.g. resume
posting, job search), professional networking through MCP-specific
groups and tools (FaceBook, LinkedIn, etc.), special recognition at
Microsoft events and eligibility for "ambassador" status
(representing Microsoft at local events and user groups), and early
access to upcoming Microsoft Press titles through book review
club.
Another benefit of the community is in the development of the
certification itself. The role of the community in certification is
not well known in some areas-many don't realize that if you are
Microsoft Certified you can also participate in the process of
building new certifications. Microsoft continually reaches out to
its MCP community for help in creating new certifications. MCPs can
also partner with Microsoft professionals and other technical
experts in beta exams.
A close affiliation with Microsoft and access to the
professional community that surrounds it is the sense of community
that is important to certified professionals.
Certification = training
Certification is the validation of a rigorous
training program, which IT professionals prefer to receive from a
CPLS like LeaderQuest.
In a customer branding survey of 550 IT professionals in ten
countries,[6] when asked if it were important
that a training company be a CPLS, 76 percent of the respondents
said it was important.
An offer you can't refuse
If you don't pass the certification exam, you can
go audit any training class again at no extra charge.
[1] "Impact of Training: Functional
Excellence Leads to Operational Productivity," IDC, Doc# 215762,
Dec. 2008.
[2] Cushing Anderson, "Worldwide and
U.S. IT Certification Training and Testing, 2008-2012 Forecast,"
IDC, August 2008, IDC #213828, Volume: 1
[3] Cushing Anderson, "Preventing Bad
Hires: The Value of Objective Prehire Assessment," IDC, January
2007
[4] Microsoft Learning (2007).
Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) customer satisfaction study
(2007 ed.). Redmond, WA: Various.
[5] Cushing Anderson, "Worldwide and
U.S. IT Certification Training and Testing, 2008-2012 Forecast,"
IDC, August 2008, IDC #213828, Volume: 1
[6] Market Decisions Corporation, May
2007