Professional certification is well recognized and also anticipated in conventional industries such as accounting, marketing, teaching and management. Certification in these sectors is considered to help develop and improve the career of a professional, along with growing their prospects and opening them up to a variety of new opportunities.
As a major driver of the economy-representing at last 22.5% of the world economy-digital technologies have a huge impact on trade and society. As a result, organizations-big and small-invest in the technology that drives it and the talent that can leverage it.
While the lack of digital skills may be well known, the path to digital enlightenment is not an easy one for many businesses. Many companies struggle to see a skills shortage as it starts to emerge. And, when they do, they are unaware of the measures required to incorporate a flexible and successful system for learning digital skills.
Certification is becoming increasingly important for business people as a way to gauge digital knowledge and skills in order to make the right hires. To potential and current workers, this is a way to keep up with innovations and developments in order to stay active and digitally aware of them. Below, we discuss the advantages of certification and analyze the value of professional credentials for organizational performance and retention.
Certification for Organizations
While multinational companies continue to seek out technical experts with unique skills, certification is a straightforward way to ensure that staff – both current and potential – have the expertise and resources required to help accelerate their digital transformation.
With the unprecedented pace of change in emerging technology and the rapid growth of the workforce, there has never been a better time to obtain technical accreditation. These are the ways in which professional certification will help an organization achieve long-term success:
Improved staff efficiency: Certified staff are more supportive and perform better. A recent survey exploring the value of IT certification found that those with certification were 90% more productive and 60% more efficient than those without certification.
Enhanced quality and risk mitigation: Workers with the right expertise can identify problems and provide solutions quickly.
Superior Business Agility: highly trained employees make the enterprise more flexible and help to boost efficiency. For digital transformation now a priority for many businesses rather than an add-on, workers who adapt rapidly, keep up with developments and accept technology changes are important.
Increased Efficiency and Decreased Costs: Certification workers prefer to remain longer with companies, increased recruiting costs and eliminate disruption to the business. With 41% of companies reporting a bad hire, it can cost at least $25,000, while a quarter claims that the figure is more like $50,000, qualifications can go a long way to alleviating this type of loss.
Employee Certification-Current & Future
As people seek professional qualification, they affirm skills and abilities that have more often than not been developed over time, through professional learning and on-the-job experience. Education is voluntary and, for the uninitiated, that alone would not be enough to obtain professional certification.
However, professional certification does not only help those who operate a business or an organization-accreditation also provides value-added benefits to employees:
Quality Assurance: External certification means that a person is certified by a certification body that is recognised and validated; thus, it helps to boost career development and salary standards. In addition, 90 per cent of employers surveyed by CompTIA believes that certified individuals are more likely to be promoted than non-certified, and 89 per cent consider that they perform better than non-certified workers in similar positions.
Employer Recognition: An external credential would allow the employer to identify and acknowledge that the qualifications of a prospective employee comply with a certain professional standard. This ensures that workers are recruited for a ‘right’ work that uses their expertise, but also ensures a degree of satisfaction for the employee in that role.
Transferable Qualifications: Obtaining a degree that is accepted from industry to industry, as well as from country to country, offers employees the ability to push their positions further in their careers.
Ability Proof: Certification clearly shows a high degree of competence and gives an employee immediate confidence in your abilities. It also distinguishes one employee from another in a competitive environment.
Validation of a Continuous Learning Ethic: Certification reflects the pro-activity and encouragement of staff members to learn and acquire new information that will not only benefit them individually but will also be compensated by the company.
Improved & Enhanced Skills: Certification not only offers credentials but also guarantees an increased level of expertise in a specific field which is invaluable in today’s fast-paced digital environment.
Obtaining a Certificate
In the future, 70% of employers believe it would be more important to get a degree or a qualified credential to get a good job. To those employed with and around digital technology, change is relentless as innovations continue to grow, systems are evolving and big data is only getting bigger and more unwieldy.
Professionals with positions in broad and growing organizations are drawn to certifications by offering new skills and providing key insights. Such new skills can be invaluable in industries that need a certain degree of continuous learning and are vulnerable to rapid change.
Individuals seeking to change their career path may profit from gaining a recognized credential as moving from one profession or industry to another can be challenging, particularly when it comes to testing of skills. Accreditation is the best way to confirm your qualifications and legitimize your abilities in the presence of a future or existing employer.
Most industries have industry-specific distinctions or technical qualifications. Such forms of certifications are a way to demonstrate one’s expertise and experience in their field; they are also a way to ensure that workers can comply with industry standards.
Accounting, construction, teaching, engineering and hospitality are all sectors in which people can gain professional certification-and by doing so, people have been able to advance their career opportunities while helping their industry to develop and expand. And there’s no gap in digital marketing.
In conclusion, professional certification is not about receiving a certificate after the completion of a training course; it can be viewed more specifically as a form of standardization, as it incorporates recognition for practical and advanced skills.
While business qualifications become a legitimate alternative to degrees, businesses recognize that they need people who actually understand the business. The world of digital marketing is continually on the move, so it’s not waiting for latecomers. Essentially, the best way for companies and their employees to close the skills gap, minimize employee turnover, increase productivity and ensure that skills and know-how remain relevant is through continuous learning and professional certification.