Professional Certification - Overview

Overview

Certifications are earned from a professional society or from an IT vendor (e.g., Microsoft, Cisco, etc.). In general, must be renewed periodically, or may be valid for a specific period of time (e.g., the lifetime of the product upon which the individual is certified). As a part of a complete renewal of an individual's certification, it is common for the individual to show evidence of continued learning — often termed continuing education — or earning continuing education units (CEU).

Most certification programs are created, sponsored, or affiliated with professional associations, trade organizations, or IT vendors interested in raising standards. Even those programs completely independent from membership organizations enjoy association support and endorsement.

The growth of certification programs is also a reaction to the changing employment market. Certifications are portable, since they do not depend on one company's definition of a certain job. Certification stands about the resume and the professional reference by being an impartial, third-party endorsement of an individual's professional knowledge and experience. Certification provides an impartial, third-party endorsement of an individual's professional knowledge and experience.

It is important to note that certifications are usually earned from a professional society or educational institute, not the government. If a demonstration of ability or knowledge is required by law before being allowed to perform a task or job, this is referred to as licensure. In the United States, professional licenses are usually issued by state agencies. The certification assessment process, for some organizations, is very similar or even the same as licensure and may differ only in terms of legal status, while in other organizations, can be quite different and more comprehensive than that of licensure. certification and licensure differ only in terms of legal status.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Standard 1100, defines the requirements of meeting the ANSI standard for being a certifying organization. According to ANSI Standard 1100, a professional certifying organization must meet two requirements:

1. Deliver an assessment based on industry knowledge, independent from training courses or course providers.
2. Grant a time-limited credential to anyone who meets the assessment standards.

Certifications are very common in aviation, construction, technology, environment, and other industrial sectors, as well as health care, business, Real estate broker and finance. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration regulates aviator certifications.

The Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) is a U.S.-based organization that sets rigorous standards for accreditation of certification programs based on the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (APA, AERA, NCME). Many members of the Association of Test Publishers (ATP) are also certification organizations.