Ask a working professional about the value of certification and most likely he or she will tell you that it is useless. Then the question arises why are top companies paying to get their employees certified?

Let us try to understand the value of certification.

Popular Certifications

The popular certifications in the market are PMP Preparation Training, Prince2,   ITIL v3 Foundation, , TOGAF9.1, Devops besides certification from software companies like Microsoft, Oracle , Cisco  and many others. 

What critics say

Critics often say that certification is only a test of how well one knows a certain set of questions. Ask a certified person any question beyond that set and most likely they will not be able to answer. But a person with real work experience knows the nitty gritty which a certified newbee can never know.

Some other critics say it is only a way of making money for the certifying bodies, training institutes and software companies. Most of these certifications are quite expensive and so these companies and vendors make quite a bit of money on certifications. Naturally they have an interest in promoting certification.

Importance of Certification

But all said and done, certifications do have some value. Infact it is due to the indirect value that companies are investing in their employees. The reason certification is important is that it is a test of an individual on how well he knows the particular subject. Most of these subjects are not taught in any college or university. So  how do you ensure basic knowledge is impart against a uniform syllabus and uniform method of evaluation? The answer is through certification. That is the true value of certification and the reason why companies are paying to get their employees certified. This enhances their valuation in the eyes of their customers and helps to pitch them ahead of competition. But then certification really helps professionals with several years of experience under their belt as it shows experience backed by certification.

Besides, it is very important for corporates to deliver the best service to their customers. So one of the ways to deliver good service is to have quality employees serving customers and the best way to have quality and knowledgeable customers is to get them certified. This will ensure that employees and service providers have a minimum level of knowledge on the technology or the service domain. This will enhance the quality of service and drive customer satisfaction.

Another aspect that we need to consider is that these certifications are not like licenses like those for trade skills like Electrician, Plumbers and others. The trade skills are easier to measure and test unlike IT Skills or qualitative skills like PMP or ITIL. Naturally, one has to rely on such certifications to ensure employees have basic skills.

From an employee point of view, it is important because they serve to distinguish them from rest of the crowd. When there are thousands of employees with the same qualification and skills then how do you differentiate yourself? The answer is again through certifications.

Disclaimer:

We provide experienced trainers who can conduct online and classroom training on various certification topics like ITIL v3 Foundation, PMP Preparation Training, TOGAF9.1, Prince2 Certification, OCA, OCP, MCSA, MCSE .

If you have query on any aspect of certification then feel free to send us an email at

palium.skills@gmail.com and we will be happy to respond!