2013 prometric it certification research - prometric: trusted test

IT Certification Research

Results from an Online Survey for PrometricFebruary 2013

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Research Background & Objectives

Prometric surveyed approximately 400 IT professionals, influencers and decision-makers to

communicate the value IT training and certification provides both individuals and organizations.

The research objectives included:

• Measure the importance of certification in the hiring process, and its impact on IT employee job

satisfaction, confidence, productivity, etc.

• Prioritize the key success factors or desired outcomes from training and/or certification. Does

certification strengthen the ability of employees/the organization to deliver better in these areas?

• Understand the relationship between training, certification and on-the-job-experience when it comes

to hiring decisions and meeting IT needs. What role do they play in hiring decisions?

• Perform sub-group analysis for all metrics (above) to understand key drivers. These include

analysis by:

– Certification stakeholders: IT professionals, IT decision-makers and HR/hiring/recruiters.

– Certified vs. uncertified IT professionals to measure “lift”, if any, from certification.

Research Methodology

An online survey was conducted January 29 through February 5, 2013 among IT

Certification stakeholders:

• Respondents were screened and qualified for the survey using this criteria:

– IT Professionals: IT Support, IT Technician, Network or Computer System Administrator, Network

Architect or Engineer, Software or Applications Engineer

– Decision-makers: Business Owner/President, CTO, CIO, COO that supports IT, IT VP/Director, IT

Manager; have role in decision-making and purchase of IT training or certification for

staff members

– HR/Hiring Influencers: HR Manager or Associate, Hiring Manager, Recruiter, COO or Operations

Manager that supports HR

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• Soft quotas were applied to obtain a good mix of business size (number of IT users in organization)

• The survey averaged 10.5 minutes in length.

CertificationStakeholders Number of Completed Online Interviews

IT Professionals 212

Decision-makers 100

HR/HiringInfluencers 100

TOTAL 412

Executive Summary

• Certification leads to higher job satisfaction among IT professionals and greater confidence in their

ability to do their jobs compared to their uncertified peers.

• The perceived benefits of IT certification vary slightly by IT or decision-making level:

– IT professionals recognize the benefits of IT certification primarily in terms of career enhance-

ment and the personal development of skills and knowledge to do their jobs better.

– IT decision-makers view certification as a path to employees’ skill development and as a

productivity tool, improving the reliability and efficiency of the IT environment, and ultimately

paying off for the organization as a whole (HR/Influencers have a similar view).

• Decision-makers and HR/Influencers indicate that certification

can help a job candidate get their foot in the door by landing an

interview or getting the attention of the head of the hiring

department.

• IT certification goes hand-in-hand with IT training and on-the-job

experience when it comes to developing the skill set to increase

productivity and making IT professionals more marketable. (see

also challenges).

2

Larger Organizations Are More Likely to Support Training and Certification in General

% Support Training

and Certification

1-10 IT Users

(n=34)

11-99 IT Users

(n=32)

100+ IT Users

(n=33)

Training and Certification is Largely De-Centralized and in Response to Employee Requests

How IT Training and Certification is Offered within the Organization

17%

22%

27%

17%

24%

Proactive/ Centralized

Reactive/ De-centralized

Response to a large strategic initiative

Regularly on a schedule

Ad hoc by department request

Ad hoc by employee request

Employee reimbursement

Note: All percentages have been rounded up to the nearest whole number.

Job Satisfaction Confidence in Implementing On-budget and On-time

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3

86% of certified IT professionals are satisfied with their job. IT professionals that hold one or more certifications have slightly higher job satisfaction than those that do not hold certifications.

IT Professionals’ Job Satisfaction

Certified IT professionals have greater confidence in their ability to implement IT systems on budget and on time.

IT Professionals’ Confidence in Implementing

On-budget and On-time

1% 2%1% 2%

7% 4%8%5%

16%12%

19%

51%36%52%

40%

35%40%

29% 27%

Very/Smwt dissatisfied

Very/Smwt dissatisfied

Neutral Neutral

Somewhat satisfied

Somewhat satisfied

Very satisfied

Very satisfied

86

% S

atis

fied

wit

h Jo

b

76%

Con

fid

ent

81%

Sat

isfi

ed w

ith

Job

67%

Con

fid

ent

Certified(n=112)

Certified(n=112)

Not Certified(n=90)

Not Certified(n=90)

3%

Note: All percentages have been rounded up to the nearest whole number.

Key Benefits of Certification Vary by Level

While IT professionals look to certification for career enhancement and developing their skill

set, IT decision-makers and hiring influencers look to the long-term productivity and

benefits that certification provides to the overall organization.

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4

IT Professionals IT DMs HR/Hiring

Career Enhancement

• More marketable

• Candidate for promotion

• Map career path/growth

• Earn more money

Skills & Knowledge

• Keeps skills current

• Apply knowledge to job

• Exposure to new products

• Indicator of skills/knowledge

• Troubleshoot problems without

help of outside support

Skills & Knowledge



• Staff exposed to new products




Productivity

• Helps staff do their job better

• Faster implementation

• Reliability/Efficiency of IT

environment

• Reduce network down time

• Staff value/productivity

ROI/Organization benefits

• Demonstrates competency

to clients

• Makes staff more valuable

to org

Skills & Knowledge






• Staff exposed to new products

Productivity

• Helps staff do their job better

• Staff value/productivity

• Reduce network down time

• Faster implementation

• Reliability/Efficiency of IT

environment

ROI/Organization benefits

• Makes staff more valuable

to org

• Long-term savings

• Demonstrates competency

to clients

Top perceived benefits by audience

are shown

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5

IT Professionals: Perceived Benefits

IT professionals perceive certification to primarily deliver on career enhancement and developing their skill set.

Career Enhancement

Skills & Knowledge

Productivity

ROI/OrganizationBenefits

Makes you more marketable

Keeps skills/knowledge current

Helps you do your job better

Demonstrates competency to clients

5=Excellent 4 3

Makes you a more attractive candidate for promotion

Provides knowledge that can be applied directly on the job

Increases value/productivity of staff

Provides long-term savings for the organization

Helps you map your professional growth and career path

Exposes you to new products and functionality

Improves reliability and efficiency of the IT environment

Helps you earn more money

Meaningful indication of job skills and knowledge

Speeds implementation of new IT projects

Helps troubleshoot problems without help of outside technical support

Helps reduce network downtime

12%

13%

11%

13%

43%

38%

31%

37%

28%

30%

33%

29%

83%

81%

76%

80%

13%

14%

11%

7%

10%

9%

10%

11%

10%

8%

11%

8%

35%

36%

29%

24%

34%

39%

29%

33%

35%

25%

33%

25%

30%

31%

37%

40%

31%

32%

36%

31%

29%

36%

33%

35%

78%

81%

78%

70%

76%

80%

75%

76%

74%

70%

76%

67%

Rank ordered by top 2 box score (‘5-4’ rating on a 5-point Excellent-Poor scale)

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6

IT Decision-makers: Perceived Benefits

IT decision-makers perceive certification as a way to strengthen staff’s skill and knowledge and increase productivity within the IT organization.

Skills & knowledge

Productivity

ROI/OrganizationBenefits

Employee CareerEnhancement


Helps your staff do their job better


Makes staff more attractive for promotion within the organization

5=Excellent 4 3


Speeds implementation of new IT projects

Makes your staff more valuable to the organization

Helps map your staff’s professional growth and career path

Exposes your staff to new products and functionality

Improves reliability and efficiency of the IT environment


Puts staff into consideration for pay raise

Helps staff troubleshoot problems without help of outside technical support



Increases value/productivity of staff

11%

14%

17%

7%

53%

36%

37%

34%

24%

37%

31%

43%

88%

87%

85%

84%

12%

10%

12%

6%

20%

15%

9%

8%

11%

10%

11%

11%

46%

40%

35%

31%

37%

33%

25%

25%

39%

37%

38%

32%

31%

34%

39%

44%

33%

36%

46%

38%

36%

33%

35%

44%

89%

84%

86%

81%

90%

84%

80%

71%

86%

80%

84%

87%


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7

HR/Hiring Influencers: Perceived Benefits

HR/hiring influencers view certification as a barometer of an IT employee’s skills and knowledge, as well as increasing IT productivity and providing benefits to the overall organization (ROI).

Skills & knowledge

Productivity

ROI/Organization Benefits

Employee CareerEnhancement


Helps your staff do their job better

Makes your staff more valuable to the organization

Helps map your staff’s professional growth and career path

5=Excellent 4 3


Increases value/productivityof staff


Makes staff more attractive for promotion within the organization

Helps staff troubleshoot problems without help of outside technical support



Puts staff into consideration for pay raise


Improves reliability and efficiencyof the IT environment

Exposes your staff to new products and functionality

Speeds implementation ofnew IT projects

25%

15%

10%

13%

42%

44%

41%

33%

15%

21%

28%

33%

82%

80%

79%

79%

22%

12%

20%

11%

20%

23%

18%

7%

13%

14%

16%

13%

44%

45%

29%

29%

39%

32%

30%

25%

44%

39%

41%

38%

16%

24%

28%

33%

19%

20%

29%

37%

26%

28%

22%

25%

82%

81%

77%

73%

78%

75%

77%

69%

83%

81%

79%

76%


IT Certification and Hiring

IT certification is an important qualification in the hiring process and can make a

difference in scoring an initial interview.

of IT decision-makers

would set up an interview

or put the person with IT

certification into consider-

ation for an interview

+ 18% interview

+ 67% consideration

of HR/hiring influencers

would set up an interview or

put the person with IT

certification into consideration

for an interview

+ 15% fwd to dept head

+ 26% interview

+ 33% consideration

of HR/hiring influencers say

IT certifications are ‘very or

somewhat important’ in the

hiring process

+ 36% say “very important”

of HR/hiring influencers say


somewhat confident’in the

ability of job candidates with

IT certifications to meet the

responsibilities of the position

+ 14% say “very confident”

of IT decision-makers say


somewhat important’ in the

hiring process

+ 29% say “very important”

of IT decision-makers say

they are ‘very or somewhat

confident’ in the ability of job

candidates with IT certifica-

tions to meet the responsibili-

ties of the position

+ 11% say “very confident”

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8

IT Decision-Makers HR/Hiring Influencers

85% 74%

68%

61%

69%

61%

IT Certification is Important in the Hiring Process because...

“It is a way to prove qualification.” – HR/Hiring Influencer

“ It shows that the candidate has the desire and ability to advance personal knowledge and to stay current with industry advances.” – IT Decision-Maker

“It got me a 10K bump over others when I was hired.” – IT Professional

“We need people ready to work, this shows effort to better themselves and familiarity with work;” – HR/Hiring Influencer

“IT certifications receive additional points when scoring the applicant.” – IT Professional

“Certification shows an aptitude for a specific program.” – HR/Hiring Influencer

“Because it takes money and work to get certified, which shows the candidate has initiative and worked for the certification.” – IT Professional

“Without it, there is no way to be sure of training and experience.” – IT Decision-Maker

Importance of Certification in the Hiring Process

Certification is an important factor, but not the only one, in the hiring process.

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10

IT Decision-makers (n=100) IT Decision-makers (n=100)

Measuring Effectiveness of Certification

Improved job performance, using specific skills, and passing knowledge onto others are

the top measures of certification’s effectiveness; passing the exam alone is not an indicator

of success.

Improved job performance 66%

Used specific learned skills on a project 65%

Employee trains others within the organization 55%

Employee passes the certification exam 35%

Not sure 6%

say certification is important

when considering job

candidates for IT positions

+ Single most important 1%

+ Very important 38%

+ Somewhat important 40%

say certification makes them

confident a job candidate will

be able to meet the responsi-

bilities of the position

+ Very confident 11%

+ Somewhat confident 50%

Certification Certification

69% 61%

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11

Firmographics

IT Prof. IT DMs HR/Hiring

EmploymentEmployed full-time 77% 54% 65%Self-employed 13% 39% 28%Employed part-time 8% 5% 6%Recently retired 2% 2% 1%

External ConsultantYes 24% 38% 18%No 75% 61% 82%

Primary Dept. ServedOwner/President – 55% 2%Finance/Accounting 2% 9% 29%Human Resources – 8% 51%Information Technology 100% 59% 18%Learning & Development – 7% 39%Legal – 3% 11%Marketing 1% 8% 24%Operations – 13% 32%Prod. Development or R&D 3% 8% 7%Other – – 7%

Decision-making RolePrimary role – 51% –Secondary role – 31% –Influential or oversight role – 18% –

Professional TitleIT Help Desk/SupportSpec. 22% – –IT Technician 23% – –Network/Comp Sys. Admin. 17% – –Network Architect/Engineer 4% – –Software/Applica.Engineer 3% – –IT Manager – 80% –IT VP/Director – 9% –CTO – 9% –CIO – 2% –HR Mgror Associate – – 18%Hiring Mgror Associate – – 5%Recruiter/Headhunter – – 4%Operations Mgror COO – – 13%

2012 SalaryLess than $35,000 14% – –$35,000-$39,999 5% – –$40,000 -$49,999 7% – –$50,000 -$59,999 10% – –$60,000 -$69,999 7% – –$70,000 -$79,999 8% – –$80,000 -$99,999 12% – –$100,000 -$119,999 6% – –$120,000 or more 5% – –Rather not say 27% – –

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12

Firmographics

IT Prof. IT DMs HR/Hiring

# IT Employees in Org1 9% 27% 23%2 8% 15% 20%3-5 14% 16% 20%6-10 14% 11% 7%11-50 21% 11% 9%51-100 8% 8% 2%101+ 25% 9% 7%

IT Users Supported by Org1-19 25% 34% 38%20-99 32% 32% 28%100-249 20% 18% 19%250+ 23% 15% 13%

Total RevenueLess than $100,000 11% 14% 18%$100,000 -$249,999 2% 7% 13%$250,000-$499,999 2% 7% 13%$500,000 -$999,999 4% 9% 4%$1 million -$4,999,999 5% 12% 12%$5 million-$9,999,999 5% 9% 8%$10 million-$19,999,999 5% 3% 1%$20 million-$29,999,999 2% 2% 3%$30 million -$39,999,999 – 2% 2%$40 million -$49,999,999 1% 4% 2%$50 million -$74,999,999 2% 1% 2%$75 million -$99,999,999 2% 1% 2%$100 million or more 15% 8% 3%Not sure/Rather not say 43% 21% 25%

IndustryAgriculture – 1% 2%Business Consulting 1% 15% 7%Business/Personal Services 3% 4% 1%Charitable/Non-Profit 2% 2% 2%Construction and Design 1% 2% –Education 5% 4% 12%Engineering 4% 1% –Entertainment 1% 2% 1%Finance 5% 4% 4%Gov’t: Local 5% 3% 3%Gov’t: National/Federal 4% 2% 2%Gov’t: State-Province 4% 1% 2%Health Care 7% 3% 11%Insurance 5% 1% 2%Legal 2% 3% 1%Manufacturing 5% 5% 4%Personnel Services – 1% 2%Pharmaceuticals 1% 1% –Professional Services 4% 12% 2%Publishing/Printing 1% – 3%Real Estate – 4% 1%Retail/Wholesale 5% 11% 12%Service Provider 5% 4% 5%Technology 15% 8% 6%Telecommunications 4% – 2%

Transportation 1% 1% 3%Other 7% 4% 8%

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