Certification Watch (Vol. 23, No. 24)

Written by GoCertify Staff

Published: 17 June 2020

In this week's roundup of the latest IT certification news, Certiport and the Project Management Institute launch a new certification, Microsoft merges its Learning and Learn arms, and more.

Meet the New PMI-Project Management Coordinator (PMI-PMC) Credential

Project management is not a strictly information-technology-related endeavor, but good project management is essential to the success of many IT projects and certified project managers are valued and respected across the IT industry. The Project Management Institute (PMI) operates the leading certification program for project managers, anchored by the popular Project Management Professional (PMP) credential. Now PMI and Certiport, the IT certification and training provider that manages Microsoft's far-reaching Microsoft Office certification program, have teamed up to launch a brand new project management cert, PMI-Project Management Coordinator (PMI-PMC). The new credential is specifically targeted at high school and college students (a market that Certiport excels at reaching), with the aim of steeping young learners in project management principles, thereby providing them with a valuable skill set that is broadly applicable. PMI-PMC training materials and practice tests are scheduled to be made available in August, with the launch of the new certification coming before the end of the calendar year.

CompTIA Thinks You Should Get a Job (in IT)

Tech industry association CompTIA has peppered its official blog in recent weeks with advice for IT professionals and aspiring IT professionals about launching a career in IT. There are a lot of things that need to happen, of course, before one can just walk into an IT job interview and walk out with an IT job. If you've done the legwork to establish a solid foundation for your IT ambitions, however, or if you're an existing IT professionals who, for whatever reason, is in the middle of an IT job hunt, then you may glean some useful advice from CompTIA's latest career-related blog post. Blogger Amy Kardel discusses seven scintillating suggestions for securing success when seeking a sinecure in IT. (Yes, yes, "sinecure" is technically not a direct synonym for "job" in the sense that we think of employment in 2020. Just roll with it.) A lot of Kardel's advice is generally applicable to any job interview, but the article is tailored to IT professionals, so even when she's just recommending steps like "Share your past experiences," there's advice included about how specifically to highlight your tech qualifications.

The Problem (?) of IT Certs Earned While a Student

It's become increasingly common in the modern IT education realm to use tech industry certifications to help students learn skills and build confidence. High schools, colleges, and universities have become IT certification hotbeds, with students walking across the stage at graduation time frequently having tucked multiple professional IT certifications under their belts. Many in the IT industry have questioned the workplace applicability of such certs, and now at least one voice in academia has joined that conversation. A team of IT educators at the University of Houston-Clear Lake contributed an article to the April issue of Certification Magazine (newly available at CertMag.com) that discusses the value of such student-earned certifications. The professors involved have based their findings on direct observation of students, so there's a lot of firsthand evidence to back up their assertions.