Greater emphasis on validated skills as companies struggle to fill IT staff openings
Downers Grove, Ill., February 7, 2011 – Employers are inclined to rely more heavily on professional certifications when hiring information technology (IT) workers. Professional certifications are already viewed by hiring managers as a high-value validation of IT skills. The CompTIA study suggests certifications will grow in importance as organizations seek to fill tech jobs.
Among IT hiring managers nearly two-thirds (64 percent) rate IT certifications as having extremely high or high value in validating skills and expertise. Eight in ten human resources (HR) professionals surveyed believe IT certifications will grow in usefulness and importance over the next two years.
But employers also expressed concerns about some aspects of using IT certifications in the hiring process. There is a perception among some hiring IT managers that the HR department does not have a solid understanding of IT certifications.
"The value of certifications can be enhanced in a numbers of ways," noted Tim Herbert, vice president, research, CompTIA. "Stronger links with education; easier methods of verification; greater understanding of what IT certifications can and cannot do; and more organizational support for certifications as part of a professional development program all would be positive steps in this direction."
86 percent of hiring managers indicate IT certifications are a high or medium priority during the candidate evaluation process.
"From the employer's perspective, top benefits of IT certification are validation of an individual's ability to understand new or complex technologies, higher productivity and more insightful problem solving," said Herbert.
The study suggests that certifications will become even more important as employers struggle to find individuals to fill job openings.
"Now more than ever there's little margin for error for making a bad hire," Herbert said. "In an environment of needing to do more with less, organizations cannot afford the time and cost of bringing on a new employee who cannot contribute immediately."
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