Antidote to Unemployment

International Certification: Your Personal Commitment to Professional Development

By Dr. Sathya Menon

Professional certification is the modern day antidote to unemployment. It sets a benchmark for excellence and defines the global standard for professionals.  More often than not, it offers a much needed makeover to lacklustre careers.

The dictionary defines professional certification, as a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task. Most certification programs are created, sponsored, or affiliated with professional associations, trade organizations, or private vendors interested in raising industry standards.

These days the international certification market is attracting a lot of attention. The exponential growth of the international certification market is a reaction to the changing employment market. Certifications are portable, since they do not depend on a particular company's definition of a certain job.

Certification stands above the resume and the professional reference by being an impartial, third-party endorsement of an individual's professional.

Also as IT and management practices change at an ever-increasing rate, a gap is increasingly being created between the foundation provided by an academic education and the technical and management expertise required in today's business environment.

International certification offers four vantage points for all professionals.

First it helps in gaining practical skills that can be used on the job. Professionals can realize maximum benefit from a wide range of expertise areas. Second, the certification teaches all aspects of a product and how to effectively integrate those products into respective work environments. Third, certification helps to build leadership skills.  Finally, when certification becomes a part of a professional’s personal training program, he acquires the skills needed to stay competitive for a longer time.

The  U.S. represents one of the largest international certification markets despite its up and downs. During the last decade,  there was a widespread industry battle between those who said certification had no value and those who were convinced that it did.
The latter group won. Now new certifications crop up regularly, old certifications are retooled to fit technology’s ever-changing needs.

Certifications are adopted by individuals who are interested in gaining employment in regions, and increased IT spending suggests there are more job opportunities. Therefore, people get certified.