Fran Weaver

Course Technologyfran.weaver@course.com

IT Certification IT Certification SolutionsSolutions

Preparing Students for JobsPreparing Students for Jobsin the 21in the 21stst Century Century

AgendaAgenda

• Why Certification?

• Key Benefits of Certification

• Who Are the Players?

• What Are the Certifications?

• The Facts & Salary Statistics

• How Can We Help You?

Why? The BenefitsWhy? The Benefits

• Proof of skills

• In demand by employers

• Increased enrollments in training programs

• High placement rates and salaries – students WILL get jobs!

• Many employers pay for certification training

Impact of CertificationImpact of Certification

• Standard benchmark for assessing skills

• Lowers employer training costs

• Higher efficiency and productivity– “ 78% of companies experienced more

productivity from their certified employees and 92% realized financial benefits by having certificate holders on staff ”

survey by Int’l. Data Corp.

The NeedThe Need

There are more than 1.6 million new IT jobs this year in the US

– An estimated half of those jobs will be unfilled just because there aren’t enough IT professionals in the workforce

Information Technology Assn. of America study “Bridging the Gap: Information Technology Skillsfor a New Millennium” August 2000

The NeedThe Need

There has never been a better time to be in IS – unless you’re a manager looking to fill a job.

PC Week, 5/27/96

Top 5 Reasons to Get CertifiedTop 5 Reasons to Get Certified

1. Get a raise 56% report pay increases upon certification

2. Get your foot in the door

3. Increase skills and knowledge Enhances on-the-job effectiveness

4. Gain respect5. Land the choice assignments

Who Are The Players?Who Are The Players?

• 80+ certification programs now test competency from databases to hardware– Microsoft– Novell– Cisco Systems– CompTIA– Oracle– Chauncey/NWCET– Linux Professional Institute– Sair/GNU

Microsoft Office UserMicrosoft Office UserSpecialist ProgramSpecialist Program

What Are The Certifications?What Are The Certifications?

MOUS CertificationMOUS Certification• Performance-based testing program designed to validate

front office desktop computers skills • Measures proficiency and efficiency in Office 2000 and

97 applications– Over 150 million registered MS Office users worldwide– 190,000+ MOUS exams administered since 1998– Administering 16,000+ tests per month– New exams: Project 2000, Outlook 2000– AI (Authorized Instructor) Certification

• As of October 2000: 1,000+ worldwide

MOUSMOUSCertification LevelsCertification Levels

CompaniesCompaniesEndorsing MOUSEndorsing MOUS

Bell SouthBoeing - McDonnel Douglas -

RockwellCanon USA / ImagingCity National BankCrowe, Chizek AccountingDial CorporationEDSFederal Reserve Bank ATLFederal Reserve Bank MNFluorFileNetFort Worth Star-TelegramGateway ComputersGetty MuseumHP

HughesHarley DavidsonIngram - MicroKimberly ClarkMicrosoftNorthrup GrummanPacific Northwest Labs (Dept of Energy)State Farm InsuranceSAICSouthern California EdisonSouthwest AirlinesStates: MO, PA, MD, IL, UT, WV, WAToshibaToyotaTRW

Pepperdine MBA programBellevue CCCentral Wyoming CollegeCuyahoga CCDelaware Tech & CCFrederick CCHudson Valley CCIllinois Central CollegeJoliet Junior CollegeLoyalist CollegeMiami - Jacobs CollegeMuskegon CCPatrick Henry CCPortland CCSanta Barbara City CollegeVatterott College

Bucknell UniversityLiberty UniversityMarshall UniversityPenn State UniversitySam Houston State UniversityShenandoah UniversityUniversity of AlaskaUniversity of MontanaUniversity of North DakotaUniversity of the PacificUniversity of VirginiaVillanovah UniversityVincennes UniversityWestern Washington University+ 300 OTHERS

SchoolsSchoolsEndorsing MOUSEndorsing MOUS

What are the Certifications?What are the Certifications?

An industry-recognized standard for measuring a computer professional's ability to design, develop, implement, and support solutions with Microsoft products

Windows 2000 MCSEWindows 2000 MCSE• NT 4.0 exams retired 2/28,01, valid through 12/01• More than 266,000 IT professionals have been

trained on Win 2K• Accelerated Upgrade Exam (#70-240)

– Available to NT 4 MCP/MCSEs only– 1 testing opportunity, no cost (avail through 12/31/01)

• Exam questions now 60-70% simulation, 45% troubleshooting

• 5 core and 2 elective exams• Heavy focus on design and analysis

Become a Microsoft AATPBecome a Microsoft AATP• Authorized Academic Training Provider (AATP)

– Provides training and resources to students in an academic environment who may not have access to affordable training

• Partnership with Microsoft• Positions your school as a progressive IT facility• No fee for program participation• 100-user MS product license (subject of course)• Discounts on exams for students and faculty

What Are The Certifications?What Are The Certifications?

• Certified NetWare Administrator– 2 Exams

• Certified NetWare Engineer– 2 Exams, hands-on lab component

• *NEW* Certified Directory Engineer

Cisco CCNA / CCNPCisco CCNA / CCNPCertificationCertification

WhatWhat AreAre TheThe Certifications?Certifications?

Cisco Academy NetworkCisco Academy Network• Fastest growing area of certification

– Teaches hardware and communication of networks

• Taught mainly in high schools, technical schools and colleges• CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate)

– 280-hour e-learning environment– 1 exam– Curriculum correlated to national math and science standards

• CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional)– Premium certification equivalent to an MCSE– Must be CCNA, pass 4 exams

Cisco Cisco AcademyAcademy Network Network

• Regional Academies– Responsible for up to 10 local Academies– Provides training, maintenance and support

• Local Academies– Articulation agreements or dual enrollment

provide feeder programs into two-year networking degree programs

More About CiscoMore About Cisco• Program began October 1997

• Statistics as of 3/30/01:– Currently 6,570 Academies worldwide

• 5,498 Local

• 243 Regional

• 790 Local/Regional

– 50 States & DC, 121 Countries– 198,884 students enrolled

Computer Technology Industry Association is a not-for-profit trade organization with over 10,000 companies and professional IT members – educators and industry executives who developed vendor neutral IT certifications.

What Are The Certifications?What Are The Certifications?

CompTIA

• Industry standard credential for PC service and support technicians

• 40% increase in A+ certifications in 2000 • As of 12/00: 269,990 certified technicians• CompTIA certifications do not expire• New exam live 1/31/01

– Testing of previous exams (1998 objectives) available through 3/30/01

• New exam eliminates Win 3.1, customer service skills

• New exam includes Win 95 & 98, NT 4 & Win 2000

• A+ Core Hardware– Printers, basic networking, installation, configuration and upgrading,

diagnosis and troubleshooting, preventive maintenance, motherboard and memory

• A+ OS Technologies– OS fundamentals, installation, configuration and upgrading,

diagnosis and troubleshooting, networks and memory management

• Vendor neutral networking hardware and architecture certification– Curriculum starts at ground zero– Foundation for MCSE or other networking certifications– Can be incorporated into any computer support program

• Novell accepts Net+ towards CNA certification• Cisco curriculum prepares students for Net+

– Anticipated growth due to Microsoft dropping Net Essentials exam

– Currently 29,827 certified professionals (3/01)

• Vendor-neutral, entry-level Internet certification program

• Baseline technical knowledge of Internet, Intranet and Extranet technologies

• Coverage includes Internet basics, Internet clients, development, networking, security, and Web site creation– Recommended first step for AWP (Assn. for Web

Professionals) certification

– Accepted by CIW as Foundation certification

– Recognized and accepted by the Association of Internet Professionals, Novell Education, IBM and Intel

• Newest CompTIA certification– Exams live 2/14/01

• Coverage includes:– Advanced PC hardware issues, such as RAID, SCSI,

multiple CPUs, and more

• Currently nothing in the industry like this that is vendor neutral

• Supporting organizations: 3Com, Adaptec, Compaq, HP, IBM, Intel…

• Course Technology is a cornerstone member of the Server+ Advisory Committee

Server+

What Are The Certifications?What Are The Certifications?

Associate Technology Specialist (ATS)• Vendor-neutral certification from Chauncey Group,

based on NWCET Skill Standards (NSF grant)– Core Skills Exam

• Employability skills, problem solving, project management, applied math, basic writing, statistics

– 2 Exams in one of 8 career areas• Database, Digital Media, Enterprise Systems, Network,

Programming, Technical Support, Technical Writing, Web Development

What are the Certifications?What are the Certifications?Certified Internet Web Master CIW Associate / Professional / Master

• Vendor-neutral industry-leading certification for Internet professionals created by ProSoft

• Only Internet certification endorsed by both Assn. of Internet Professionals (AIP) and Int’l. Webmasters Assn. (IWA)

• Courses and exams are based on specific Internet job responsibilities

• 3 tracks: – Designer (design, implement, and maintaining hypertext-

based sites, create web content)

– Developer (create interactive Web pages using client- and server-side Web applications; access relational database systems from Web applications)

– Administrator (configure, manage and deploy e-business solutions servers)

• Over 10,000 certified worldwide

• i-Net+ accepted as Foundations exam

• Partnership between Oracle Corporation and secondary schools

• Provides students with an introduction to the internet and web application development

• Four 90-hour courses:– Database Fundamentals, Database Programming, Java

Programming, Java Database Applications

• Oracle provides professional development, software, course materials, and support

• As of 3/01, 60,000 OCPs (100% increase over last 8 mos.)

Oracle Internet AcademyOracle Internet Academy

Salary StatisticsSalary Statistics

Certification and IT Professionals research study conducted by Fairfield Research, Inc. 12/00

Salary IncreasesSalary IncreasesFollowing CertificationFollowing Certification

Certification and IT Professionals research study conducted by Fairfield Research, Inc. 12/00

Technical certification = average 12% salary increase

Salary StatisticsSalary Statistics

How can weHow can wehelp you?help you?

How can weHow can wehelp you?help you?

Course TechnologyCourse Technology

• Courseware• Assessment• Exam prep materials

– (CoursePrep StudyGuide, CoursePrep ExamGuide)

• CompTIA cornerstone Advisory Committee member

• Partnership with The Chauncey Group• Alliance with Thomson Prometric

MicrosoftMicrosoftMOUSMOUS

How Can We Help You?How Can We Help You?

Full MOUS solution:– Comprehensive, authoritative textbooks

approved by Microsoft– Teaching Tools and Instructors’ Resources– Live, in-the-application testing (SAM)– Simulated practice tests (Skill Measure)– Computer based training

Skills Assessment ManagerSkills Assessment Manager

MicrosoftMicrosoftWindows 2000 Windows 2000

MCSEMCSE

How Can We Help You?How Can We Help You?Full Windows 2000 solution:

– Comprehensive, authoritative textbooks– Teaching Tools and Instructors’ Resources– CertPak CD ROM

• Test-Prep software, Simulations

– Prometric test discount coupon– Lab Manuals – CoursePrep Study Guides– New! Open Lab Simulations (60 simulations w/100+

animated scenarios) available 5/30/01– CBT options for REAL-LIFE simulations

How Can We Help You?How Can We Help You?

Novell Certified NetWare Admin (CNA)– Hands-On Novell NetWare 5.0/5.1 with

Projects Enhanced– Guide to Novell NetWare 5.0/5.1: Enhanced

Edition

CompTIACompTIAA+, Net+, i-Net+A+, Net+, i-Net+

How Can We Help You?How Can We Help You?

Total Solution Toolbox to A+ Certification– A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC

Enhanced Comprehensive

– Complete Computer-Based Training for Managingand Maintaining Your PC

– A+ Lab Manual

– PC Troubleshooting Pocket Guide

– CoursePrep Study Guide, Exam Guide or Exam Cram

– Toolkit

How Can We Help You?How Can We Help You?

Network+ Guide to Networks– Network+ Lab Manual

– CoursePrep StudyGuide and ExamGuide

i-Net+ Guide to Internet Technologies– i-Net+ Lab Manual

– CoursePrep StudyGuide and ExamGuide

CiscoCiscoCCNACCNA

How Can We Help You?How Can We Help You?• CCNA Guide to Cisco Networking Fundamentals, 2/e

– Pub date: 6/15/01– Lab Manual: Pub date: 6/15/01

• CCNA Guide to Cisco Routing, 2/e– Pub date: 6/30/01– Lab Manual: Pub date: 6/30/01

• CCNA CoursePrep StudyGuide– Pub date 6/15/01

• CCNP Guide to Building Scalable Cisco Networks– Pub date: 8/1/01

CIWCIWCertified Internet Certified Internet

WebmasterWebmaster

How Can We Help You?How Can We Help You?

Course Technology partnershipwith ProsoftTraining.com for CIW

Certification

• Alliance to provide courseware for CIW Program from ProsoftTraining.com

• CT products first in the CIW approved content program

• Textbooks and training materials

Internet Stats / PredictionsInternet Stats / Predictions• Over 800,000 job openings for Internet specialists right now

• Predicting three million job openings for Internet specialists in the next six years

• Over 70 million students are getting an education on the Internet this year

• 7 out of 10 students on the Web say they're getting better grades

• By the time today's elementary school students graduate from high school, over a billion jobs will require Internet skills

• One day, training for every job on Earth will be available on the Internet. (4/01: Cisco Academy “EduFact”s Website)

OpportunitiesOpportunities forfor thethe FutureFuture

There are 58

openings in

pro basketball.

There are 346,000

in Information

Technology.

You do the math.

For More Info …For More Info …

• www.course.com/certification

• www.microsoft.com/aatp/

• www.mous.net

• www.certcities.com (now hosting officecert.com) www.comptia.org

• www.cisco.com/warp/public/779/edu

• www.chauncey.com/ATS

• www.ciwcertified.com

• http://academy.oracle.com/pls/i_academy/i_academy.home

• www.certmag.com