Interview: Martin Bean on the Value of Certification and its Impact on America's IT Workforce

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Published 3/4/2005
By Anne Martinez

GoCertify: What are the greatest weaknesses of IT certification from an IT professional's perspective?

Martin Bean: There are three weaknesses from an IT professional's perspective:

1. Some professionals feel the learning is redundant or there is not a logical link from the educational material in the certification to their job. Most IT professionals are extremely busy and there is a plethora of certifications to choose from. It can simply be hard to choose the right certification for the desired results.
   
   
2. There is not enough cooperation between vendors that would give professionals a more comprehensive certification. For example, you simply cannot secure a network with only one vendor program. Most IT professionals would prefer to see more cooperation between certification programs to remove redundancy and give more credits for required skills in other programs.
   
   
3. The certification bodies or vendors do not do enough to protect or support the value proposition of the certification. This could be done through marketing, publicity or rigor in the program itself or commitment to the program.

GoCertify: What other comments would you like to add about the state of IT certification?

Martin Bean: IT certification still remains unbelievably relevant and appropriate in areas of high-demand or skill shortage in the American economy. IT security is a terrific example. There is not a standard today for an IT security professional in any educational system. Even though our society and economy is extremely vulnerable to IT security threats, we still do not have the ability to point to appropriately qualified and certified people in both the public and private sector. And, we cannot solve the biggest problem in information security which is human error.

IT certifications have stepped up to fill a very important void that exists when technology outpaces academia. IT certifications will always remain relevant because the rate of technology change is so great that as job opportunities appear, it is the most reactive and relevant way to get the knowledge transferred from the manufacturers to companies that need to use the technology.

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