News Feature | January 28, 2016

IT Solutions Providers Techs: To Certify Or Not To Certify? That Is The Question.

Christine Kern

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

IT Solutions Providers Techs: To Certify Or Not To Certify? That Is The Question

The decision to obtain IT certification can be a controversial topic, begging the question “Why even become certified?” A blog post from Global Knowledge says, the better question is, “Can I afford not to be certified?” 

One real source of value in certification comes as organizations fight for IT talent with proven skills, although the best-known certifications are not always the ones that will get your hired, as CIO points out. “The good ones are almost always performance-oriented and have a laboratory component involved that proves candidates can use their knowledge in the real world,” Subhash Tantry, president of certification, testing and assessment platform provider Mettl, tells CIO.

The Global Knowledge blog post by Rebecca Fitzhugh asserts IT certifications are valuable if they are “in a niche that you are professionally pursuing.” She cites CompTIA survey that provides some important insights:

  • 96 percent of HR managers use IT certifications during recruitment for screening or hiring criteria.
  • 72 percent of employers use IT certification as a requirement for specific job roles
  • 66 percent of employers find IT certifications valuable
  • 65 percent of employers use IT certifications to differentiate between equal candidates
  • 60 percent of employers tend to use IT certifications to confirm expertise or knowledge of a candidate

Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO of CompTIA, tells CIO, “The value of technical certifications for business is greater than ever. Academic credentials validate that you have the classroom knowledge associated with the job you are applying for, but that book learning will only take you so far.”