Why IT training and certifications are worth their weight in gold

Picture the scene: a management team is meeting to discuss what company expenditure is justifiable before they send their final thoughts to the CFO. Perhaps cutbacks need to be implemented to steady the ship.

These are tough decisions that every IT business has to make every month, probably now over many years. Perhaps the outcome could be a reduced headcount or a cut in the staff training budget. I hope it’s not the latter.

I realise that every penny in the corporate pot is precious, but I would strongly urge IT firms against axing or reducing staff training and certifications. Why? Well, it’s down to strong evidence of the positive attributes these both bring to the workplace.

Research from IDC has found that 80% of IT managers believe effective training is critical in delivering successful IT projects. Additionally, Global Knowledge reports that IT training is, encouragingly, on the up; it found that the number of organisations planning to send staff on IT training courses to boost skills rose from 63% in 2011 to 80% last year.

What is pleasing about the statistic above is that it is the employer pushing the need for training to improve skills, not the employees who need to take the lead. We’ve all received appraisals where we’d like to have asked to attend training courses, but are often worried that the pot with the training budget is a little too empty. An even worse scenario is if we don’t get our employer’s backing to attend training and certification programmes.

So, we know that training is in demand and is beneficial, but what about certifications? How useful are they? Well, in short, they are very useful. Certifications provide two fundamental company benefits.

Firstly, the recruitment process can use certifications to help determine whether a candidate has the necessary skills to succeed. Research has found that among 800 US IT managers responsible for hiring, 62% agreed that IT certifications provide a desirable knowledge set for many IT roles. In fact, US HR professionals see the potential in certifications, with 81% expecting to see growth in this area over the next two years.

Secondly, certifications can play a role in building a productive team. Global Knowledge found that 92% of companies witnessed increases in staff effectiveness following certification. Additionally, IDC research found that organisations with higher percentages of certified staff demonstrated improved operational performance in several areas, including endpoint security, network availability, and on-time application deployment.

So, in summary, training and certifications are potentially a good return on investment for business productivity. It’s time to shout louder about this – ideally within earshot of the your CFO ahead of the next senior management team meeting.


How granting IT students free access to learning resources will help tackle the skills gap

It is often argued that your school days are among the best times of your life. Before you bombard me with experiences to the contrary, featuring memories of demon headmasters or headmistresses, I’m sure you would at least agree that education and learning helps broaden your mind.

During these formative, broadening years, and then later at university, education is key in helping to develop skills essential for the workplace. Granted. However, in today’s economic climate, it’s very tough to enter the IT job market for the first time – or even to return after a career break or unemployment.

But wait, all is not lost, as there is some good news for budding IT jobseekers. Phew. This week, CompTIA has announced that it has introduced free membership for its Authorized Partner Program for Academy Partners.

The Program will help academic institutions, non-profit organisations and government-run re-training agencies access to learning resources for students who want to break into the IT job market.

This is great news and very timely. The profession is demanding a new generation of IT experts across the globe. By eliminating membership fees, CompTIA is helping students to access vital instruction and relevant certifications that employers are crying out for.

Students taking part in this free initiative will gain a real understanding of why it’s so important to think strategically, communicate effectively and, most importantly, meet business goals in the IT world. Sometimes, the need to speak the language of business is lost on our education curriculum planners.

I have spoken out in the past about how education needs to align itself more with business thinking. IT teaching needs to be more inspiring, relevant and engaging. If as a united industry we can support the better teaching of IT to generate more savvy students, we can really start to tackle the worldwide skills gap. What better way to kick start IT job creation through better learning than via the Authorized Partner Program?

If you’re a student trying to get a foothold on the IT career ladder and you’d like to find out more about the Program, it’s advisable to speak with your academic institution.

As a final point, perhaps the demon headmaster or headmistress you feared at school was upset for good reason. Perhaps they didn’t have access to the resources needed to succeed quicker in their careers. The future generation of IT professionals is more blessed it seems!