Professional certification


Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply certification or qualification, is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task. Not all certifications that use post-nominal letters are an acknowledgement of educational achievement, or an agency appointed to safeguard the public interest.

Overview

A certification is a third-party attestation of an individual's level of knowledge or proficiency in a certain industry or profession. They are granted by authorities in the field, such as professional societies and colleges, or by private certificate-granting agencies. Most certifications are time-limited; some expire after a period of time, while others can be renewed indefinitely as long as certain requirements are met. Renewal usually requires ongoing education to remain up-to-date on advancements in the field, evidenced by earning the specified number of continuing education credits, or continuing education units, from approved professional development courses.
Certification is different from occupational licensing. In the United States, licenses are typically issued by state agencies, whereas certifications are usually awarded by professional societies or educational institutes. Obtaining a certificate is voluntary in some fields, but in others, certification from a government-accredited agency may be legally required to perform certain jobs or tasks. In other countries, licenses are typically granted by professional societies or universities and require a certificate after about three to five years and so on thereafter. The assessment process for certification may be more comprehensive than that of licensure, though sometimes the assessment process is very similar or even the same, despite differing in terms of legal status.
According to The Guide to National Professional Certification Programs by Phillip Barnhart, "certifications are portable, since they do not depend on one company's definition of a certain job" and they provide potential employers with "an impartial, third-party endorsement of an individual's professional knowledge and experience".
Many certification programs are affiliated with professional associations, trade organizations, or private vendors interested in raising industry standards. Certification programs are often created or endorsed by professional associations, but are typically completely independent from membership organizations. Certifications are very common in fields such as aviation, construction, technology, environment, and other industrial sectors, as well as healthcare, business, real estate, and finance.
The American National Standards Institute defines the standard for being a certifying agency as meeting the following two requirements:
  1. Delivering an assessment based on industry knowledge that is independent from training courses or course providers
  2. Granting a time-limited credential to anyone who meets the assessment standards
The Institute for Credentialing Excellence is a U.S.-based organization that sets standards for the accreditation of personnel certification and certificate programs based on the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, a joint publication of the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education. Many members of the Association of Test Publishers are also certification organizations.

Categorization

There are three general types of certification. Listed in order of development level and portability, they are: corporate, product-specific, and profession-wide.
Corporate, or "internal" certifications, are made by a corporation or low-stakes organization for internal purposes. For example, a corporation might require a one-day training course for all sales personnel, after which they receive a certificate. While this certificate has limited portability – to other corporations, for example – it is the most simple to develop.
Product-specific certifications are more involved, and are intended to be referenced to a product across all applications. This approach is very prevalent in the information technology industry, where personnel are certified on a version of software or hardware. This type of certification is portable across locations, but not across other products. Another example could be the certifications issued for shipping personnel, which are under international standards even for the recognition of the certification body, under the International Maritime Organization.
The most general type of certification is profession-wide. Certification in the medical profession is often offered by particular specialties. In order to apply professional standards, increase the level of practice, and protect the public, a professional organization might establish a certification. This is intended to be portable to all places a certified professional might work. Of course, this generalization increases the cost of such a program; the process to establish a legally defensible assessment of an entire profession is very extensive. An example of this is a certified public accountant, which would not be certified for just one corporation or one piece of accountancy software but for general work in the profession.

Professional certificates awarded by tertiary education providers

Many tertiary education providers grant professional certificates as an award for the completion of an educational program. The curriculum of a professional certificate is most often in a focused subject matter. Many professional certificates have the same curriculum as master's degrees in the same subject. Many other professional certificates offer the same courses as master's degrees in the same subject, but require the student to take fewer total courses to complete the program. Some professional certificates have a curriculum that more closely resembles a baccalaureate major in the same field. The typical professional certificate program is between 200 and 300 class-hours in size. It is uncommon for a program to be larger or smaller than that. Most professional certificate programs are open enrollment, but some have admissions processes. A few universities put some of their professional certificates into a subclass they refer to as advanced professional certificates.

Advanced professional certificate

Advanced professional certificates are professional credentials designed to help professionals enhance their job performance and marketability in their respective fields. In many other countries, certificates are qualifications in higher education. In the United States, a certificate may be offered by an institute of higher education. These certificates usually signify that a student has reached a standard of knowledge of a certain vocational subject. Certificate programs can be completed more quickly than associate degrees and often do not have general education requirements.
An advanced professional certificate is a result of an educational process designed for individuals. Certificates are designed for both newcomers to the industry as well as seasoned professionals. Certificates are awarded by an educational program or academic institution. Completion of a certificate program indicates completion of a course or series of courses with a specific concentration that is different from an educational degree program. Course content for an advanced certificate is set forth through a variety of sources i.e. faculty, committee, instructors, and other subject matter experts in a related field. The end goal of an advanced professional certificate is so that professionals may demonstrate knowledge of course content at the end of a set period in time.

Areas of certification

Accountancy, auditing and finance

There are many professional bodies for accountants and auditors throughout the world; some of them are legally recognized in their jurisdictions.
Public accountants are the accountancy and control experts that are legally certified in different jurisdictions to work in public practices, certifying accounts as statutory auditors, eventually selling advice and services to other individuals and businesses. Today, however, many work within private corporations, financial industry, and government bodies.

Accounting and external auditing

Cf. Accountancy qualifications and regulation

Internal auditing and fraud combat

Finance

Architecture

Archival science, information privacy, and records management

Aviation

Aviators are certified through theoretical and in-flight examinations. Requirements for certifications are quite equal in most countries and are regulated by each National Aviation Authority. The existing certificates or pilot licenses are:
  • SPL conferred by the FAA
  • PPL conferred by the FAA or JAA
  • CPL conferred by the FAA or JAA
  • ATP conferred by the FAA or JAA
Licensing in these categories require not only examinations but also a minimum number of flight hours. All categories are available for Fixed-Wing Aircraft and Rotatory-Wing Aircraft. Within each category, aviators may also obtain certifications in:
Usually, aviators must be certified also in their log books for the type and model of aircraft they are allowed to fly. Currency checks as well as regular medical check-ups with a frequency of 6 months, 12 months, or 36 months, depending on the type of flying permitted, are obligatory. An aviator can fly only if holding:
  • A valid pilot license
  • A valid medical certificate
  • Valid certifications for the type of aircraft and type of flight.
In Europe, the ANSP, ATCO & ANSP technicians are certified according to EUROCONTROL Safety Regulatory Requirement .

Biomedical

Communications

In the United States, several communications certifications are conferred by the Electronics Technicians Association.

Computer technology

Certification is often used in the professions of software engineering and information technology.

Dance

Conferred by the International Dance Council CID at UNESCO, the International Certification of Dance Studies is awarded to students who have completed 150 hours of classes in a specific form of dance for Level 1. Another 150 hours are required for Level 2 and so on till Level 10. This is the only international certification for dance since the International Dance Council CID is the official body for all forms of dance; it is usually given in addition to local or national certificates, that is why it is colloquially called "the dancer's passport". Students cannot apply for this certification directly – they have to ask their school to apply on their behalf. This certification is awarded free of charge, there is no cost other than membership fees.
International Dance Council CID at UNESCO administers the International Certification of Dance Studies.

[Data management]

Electronics

In the United States, several electronics certifications are provided by the Electronics Technicians Association.

Emergency management

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's EMI offers credentials and training opportunities for United States citizens. Students do not have to be employed by FEMA or be federal employees for some of the programs.

Engineering

Professional engineering is any act of planning, designing, composing, measuring, evaluating, inspecting, advising, reporting, directing or supervising, or managing any of the foregoing, that requires the application of engineering principles and that concerns the safeguarding of life, health, property, economic interests, the public interest or the environment.
  • P.Eng., conferred by provincial licensing bodies in Canada.
  • Ir. or P.Eng., conferred by Board of Engineers Malaysia in Malaysia.
  • PE, conferred by Pakistan Engineering Council and state licensing bodies in the United States.
  • PE, conferred by provincial safety authorities in Canada.
  • EUR ING, conferred by the European Federation of National Engineering Associations.
  • C.Eng., conferred by professional engineering institutions in the UK and commonwealth.
  • SMIEEE, a professional designation throughout all of the United States.
  • CET or AScT, conferred by provincial licensing bodies in Canada.
  • SPE Society of Petroleum Engineers Certificate Is a program whereby it certifies the technical knowledge of petroleum engineers. The certification is granted based on an examination in conjunction with experience of the applicant.

Event planning

Event planning includes budgeting, scheduling, site selection, acquiring necessary permits, coordinating transportation and parking, arranging for speakers or entertainers, arranging decor, event security, catering, coordinating with third-party vendors, and emergency plans.

Warehousing management

A warehouse management system is a part of the supply chain and primarily aims to control the movement and storage of materials within a warehouse and process the associated transactions, including shipping, receiving, putaway and picking. The systems also direct and optimize stock putaway based on real-time information about the status of bin utilization. A WMS monitors the progress of products through the warehouse. It involves the physical warehouse infrastructure, tracking systems, and communication between product stations.
More precisely, warehouse management involves the receipt, storage and movement of goods,, to intermediate storage locations or to a final customer. In the multi-echelon model for distribution, there may be multiple levels of warehouses. This includes a central warehouse, a regional warehouses and potentially retail warehouses.

Environment

  • CEnvP – Certified Environmental Practitioner ''of Australia and New Zealand''

Environmental health

Explosive atmospheres

IECEx covers the specialized field of explosion protection associated with the use of equipment in areas where flammable gases, liquids and combustible dusts may be present. This system provides the assurance that equipment is manufactured to meet safety standards, and that services such as installation, repair and overhaul also comply with IEC International Standards on 60079 series. The UNECE, cited IECEx as one example of a practice model for the verification of conformity to IEC Standards, for European smaller countries with no certification schemes for such equipment. It published a "Common Regulatory Framework" as a suggestion for those countries implementing a certification program for the explosive atmospheres' segment.

Fiber optics and data cabling

Genealogy

Health leadership

  • CHE conferred by the Canadian College of Health Leaders

Hospitality and tourism

Insurance and risk management

In the United States, insurance professionals are licensed separately by each state. Many individuals seek one or more certifications to distinguish themselves from their peers.

Language education

English [language learning and teaching|TESOL] is a large field of employment with widely varying degrees of regulation. Most provision worldwide is through the state school system of each individual country, and as such, the instructors tend to be trained primary- or secondary school teachers who are native speakers of the language of their pupils, and not of English. Though native speakers of English have been working in non-English speaking countries in this capacity for years, it was not until the last twenty-five years or so that there was any widespread focus on training particularly for this field. Previously, workers in this sort of job were people engaging in backpacker tourism hoping to earn some extra travel money or well-educated professionals in other fields volunteering, or retired people. These sorts of people are certainly still to be found, but there are many who consider TESOL their main profession.
One of the problems facing these full-time teachers is the absence of an international governing body for the certification or licensure of English language teachers. However, Cambridge University and its subsidiary body UCLES are pioneers in trying to get some degree of accountability and quality control to consumers of English courses, through their CELTA and DELTA programs. Trinity College London has equivalent programs, the CertTESOL and the LTCL DipTESOL. They offer initial certificates in teaching, in which candidates are trained in language awareness and classroom techniques, and given a chance to practice teaching, after which feedback is reported. Both institutions have as a follow-up a professional diploma, usually taken after a year or two in the field. Although the initial certificate is available to anyone with a high school education, the diploma is meant to be a post-graduate qualification and can in fact be incorporated into a master's degree program.

Legal affairs

An increasing number of attorneys are choosing to be recognized as having special expertise in certain fields of law. According to the American Bar Association, a lawyer who is a certified specialist has been recognized by an independent professional certifying organization as having an enhanced level of skill and expertise, as well as substantial involvement in an established legal specialty. These organizations require a lawyer to demonstrate special training, experience and knowledge to ensure that the lawyer's recognition is meaningful and reliable. Lawyer conduct with regard to specialty certification is regulated by the states.
Legal administrators vary in their day-to-day responsibilities and job requirements. The Association of Legal Administrators is the credentialing body of the Certified Legal Manager certification program. CLMs are recognized as administrators who have passed a comprehensive examination and have met other eligibility requirements.:

Logistics and transport

Logistician is the profession in the logistics and transport sectors, including sea, air, land and rail modes. Professional qualification for logisticians usually carries post-nominal letters.
Certification granting bodies include, but are not limited to, Institute for Supply Management, Association for Operations Management, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, International Society of Logistics, Canadian Institute of Traffic and Transportation, and Allied Council for Commerce and Logistics.

Management Consulting

Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving any sort of organizational objectives.
The profession's primary certification is the "Certified Management Consultant" designation.
Certification granting bodies are the approximately 50 Institutes of Management Consulting belonging to the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes.

Marketing

  • CME, conferred by Sales & Marketing Executives International, Inc..

Ministers

Churches have their own process of who may use various religious titles. Protestant churches typically require a Masters of Divinity, accreditation by the denomination and ordination by the local church in order for a minister to become a "Reverend". Those qualifications may or may not also give government authorization to solemnize marriages.

Medicine

Board certification is the process by which a physician in the United States documents by written, practical or computer based testing, illustrating a mastery of knowledge and skills that define a particular area of medical specialization. The American Board of Medical Specialties, a not-for-profit organization, assists 24 approved medical specialty boards in the development and use of standards in the ongoing evaluation and certification of physicians.
Medical specialty certification in the United States is a voluntary process. While medical licensure sets the minimum competency requirements to diagnose and treat patients, it is not specialty specific. Board certification demonstrates a physician's exceptional expertise in a particular specialty or sub-specialty of medical practice.
Patients, physicians, health care providers, insurers and quality organizations regard certification as an important measure of a physician's knowledge, experience and skills to provide quality health care within a given specialty.
Other professional certifications include certifications such as medical licenses, Membership of the Royal College of Physicians, Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, nursing board certification, diplomas in social work. The Commission for Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy certifies pharmacists that are knowledgeable about principles of geriatric pharmacotherapy and the provision of pharmaceutical care to the elderly. Additional certifying bodies relating to the medical field include:

Peer support

NCPRP stands for "National Certified Peer Recovery Professional", and the NCPRP credential and exam were developed in collaboration with the International Certification Board of Recovery Professionals and is currently being administered by PARfessionals.
PARfessionals is a professional organization and all of the available courses are professional development and pre-certification courses.
The NCPRP credential and exam focus primarily on the concept of peer recovery through mental health and addiction recovery. It has the main purpose of training student-candidates on how to become peer recovery professionals who can provide guidance, knowledge or assistance for individuals who have had similar experiences.
Each student-candidate must complete several key steps which include initial registration; the pre-certification review course; and all applicable sections of the official application in order to become eligible to complete the final step, which is the NCPRP certification exam.
The NCPRP credential is obtained once a participant successfully passes the NCPRP certification exam by the second attempt and is valid for five years.

Physical asset management

Project management

Organizations that offer various certifications include:

Public relations

In the US, the Universal Accreditation Board, an organization composed of the Public Relations Society of America, the Agricultural Relations Council, the National School Public Relations Association, the Religious Communicators Council and other public relations professional societies, administers the Accreditation in Public Relations, a voluntary certification program for public relations practitioners.

Real estate management

The Building Owners and Managers Association and the International Facility Management Association offer professional certifications for the operation and management of commercial properties.

Renewable energy

Safety and Occupational Hygiene

Sales

Organizations offering certification include:

Security

Other applications

  • The American Academy of Environmental Engineers board certifies licensed environmental engineers and unlicensed environmental engineering practitioners for those with a degree in engineering and at least 8 years of practice and responsible charge in environmental engineering.
  • The American Institute of Floral Designers offers two levels of certification for individuals in the field of professional floral design. Certified Floral Designer and accredited membership are both designed to establish a gold standard in professional floral design while ensuring the certified individual maintains that standard through continued education credits. While many state-level floral associations also offer state-level floral design certification known as Master Florist certification, AIFD certification is the highest level of professional floral design awarded in the United States.
  • The Canadian National Association of Infrared Imaging Technologists awards the IIT designation to infrared thermographers who meet the training standards regulated by the association. AIIT aims to ensure service delivery standards and public trust through regulating training standards, codes of conduct and continuing education.
  • The Society for Technical Communication is planning to create a certification program for technical writers in 2011.
  • The International Society of Arboriculture is the International body who administers ANSI-accredited certification programs for arborists and tree care specialists. Certifications vary from Tree Worker to Certified Arborist to Master Arborist.

Criticisms

Political commentators have criticized professional or occupational licensing, especially medical and legal licensing, for restricting the supply of services and therefore making them more expensive, often putting them out of reach of the poor.