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Microsoft launches new structure for certification programmes

Microsoft Learning has announced a new three-tiered certification programme that it says better reflects the changing IT environment and the needs of IT professionals and developers.

The new certifications are:

• Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist
• Microsoft Certified IT Professional or Professional Developer
• Microsoft Certified Architect

The first credentials offered will be for Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005, which will launch next month.

"Today’s systems require IT professionals and developers to possess more specialised skills," said Lutz Ziob, general manager for Microsoft Learning. "These new certifications are key to helping customers and partners continuously build the skills they need to successfully adopt and deploy Microsoft technologies."

Microsoft says the new three-tiered programme provides a flexible curriculum designed to enhance technical knowledge and skills, a certification framework that helps individuals differentiate themselves, and a benchmark for managers making recruiting & staffing decisions.

Under the new three-tiered programme, Microsoft says credentials are more targeted and can be achieved with fewer exams, making it more cost-effective for individuals and organisations to validate specific sets of skills.

Olivier Nguyen Van Tan, senior consultant with Pierre Audoin Consultants, said: "By focusing on specific job roles this new certification programme is much more in line with the real-life job situation of IT professionals and developers - and should help them create and build more accurate solutions. Beyond expanding customers’ technology expertise, the utmost value lies in the new synergies with Microsoft’s product strategy, and will be a key factor of customer success in using future product releases."

Microsoft outlined the new certification process as starting with a free online assessment to determine a candidate’s area of strength and weakness, resulting in a customised learning plan that directs candidates to specific resources. The company says candidates can then choose the learning resources that best reflect their needs and learning style.

In the next 6 months, Microsoft says there will be a slate of new materials to help individuals prepare for certification, including assessments, books, and courses that are available on-demand, in printed form, and as instructor-led classroom curriculum from Microsoft and its learning partners.

"One of the key things Microsoft has done is to break certification into two parts: understanding the technology and performing specific jobs,” said Thom Griffin, vice president of Technical Services for QuickStart Intelligence, Microsoft Worldwide Learning Partner of the Year.

"Our enterprise customers will appreciate the job role emphasis because it will help them assess and better evaluate their staff’s skills. And with fewer exams and reduced cost, the new programme provides our customers an easy way to validate the skills necessary to quickly adopt new technologies as they become available. "

Microsoft says certifications for Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 will be available in early 2006. Microsoft will present more information about the credentials and learning resources at a launch event on November 7th for the Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005 and BizTalk Server 2006 products.

External link

Further information on the new generation of Microsoft certifications can be found at: www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/newgen/

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