As the industry moves to a global economy, making employee transition easier with ample job opportunities, the skills gap is getting wider. Global Knowledge’s 2018 IT skills and salary report confirms that skills gaps are a global concern. Every country is facing a shortage of competent workers.
Companies are struggling to find candidates with the right set of tech skills. The burgeoning technology take-over has put a tremendous pressure on employees as well organizations to learn new skills. In an ATD survey, talent development professionals say 56 percent skills of their workforce don’t match the changes required for the future change. The need for skilled workforce rightly points out the value of workforce certifications programs.
Certifications, both entry-level and specialist, serve a means to break into the industry. It helps organizations to build a skilled workforce ready to be deployed and derive desired results. In a Microsoft Certified Professionals survey, 91% of hiring managers said certification is a criterion for hiring.
Certified employees are efficient, result-oriented, and performance-driven
Apart from imparting skills required to perform the job, certifications equip candidates with business-centric skills, which makes them more efficient and result-oriented.
Certifications teaches candidates executional frameworks, which aids them in working faster and become more efficient. Therefore, organizations prefer to hire certified workers over non-certified candidates.
Many organizations are conducting workforce certification programs to simply orient employees toward business-centric skills.
Certifications lead to faster promotions and better salary
Certified employees are paid more than their non-certified counterparts. According to an HRCI report, a certified human resource professional can expect 31.6 percent more salary than their non-certified peers. Further, the chances for promotion for certified professionals is more than non-certified employees.
Certification boosts productivity
Several companies including Microsoft, IDC, etc. have shown that certified employees are better prepared to deal with day-to-day challenges, bringing productivity to projects. Thus, the presence of certified professionals in a team increases overall productivity. Certifications combine academic knowledge with real-world skills and expose takers to real business scenarios, further equipping them with hands-on knowledge. This is especially important in case of entry-level jobs, where experienced candidates will get an upper hand over inexperienced fresh graduates.
On one hand, the shortage of skilled workforce may be advantageous for the global certification industry, but it is a bottleneck in the economic and industrial development. To overcome this, organizations are tooth and nails. Some organizations are taking measures by organizing workforce certification programs for employees, some are reimbursing the cost incurred in professional development.
The importance of skill development can also be fathomed by the growing popularity of online skilling platforms. Offline and online learning platforms are coming up in large numbers, explaining the demand for a skilled workforce. The array of new technologies is leading organizations toward the cusp of making its workforce redundant. So not just individuals, but organizations to are in dire need of certified employees who can take charge of progress. Thus, making certifications far more valuable than imagination.
Author: Ariaa Reeds
