To be certified ... or not?

J. St. Luce
Aug 28, 2017
2 min read

On many business networking sites and forums i encountered the question regarding the utility of certification. And as with almost everything in life there are proponents and opponents. But let's take a look at the meaning of the word certification. When we look at the meaning of the word certification, we can draw the conclusion that it stands for:

A guarantee as to meeting a standard value in a certain field or profession
A formally confirmation to be true, accurate or genuine.
To vouch for the authenticity of something.
A recognition or acknowledgment in writing that a person has studied, and has passed a difficult test or exam succesfully.

A certfication adds professionalism, credibility and excellence to your specific professional traits. Beeing certified demonstrates that someone has the knowledge, skills, competence and is qualified to skillfully complete the tasks delegated to him or her. It insures that you deliver quality service, improving your industry standard. There are several kinds of certifications.

Nationally recognized certifications granted by a goverment organization or appropiate agency. You get this kind of certification for completing accredited courses of 1 to 4 years with a theory and a practical exam.
There are lifetime certifications.
Certifications valid for an indefinite period provided you run the profession without interruptions.
And there are certifications for wich you'll have to be re-certified every 3 to 5 years.
Furthermore, you can obtain certificates for unrecognized courses completed with a theory exam.
And there are certificates you get for your presence or participation in a training tested or not.

Educational accreditation:

Such a certification has a certain advanced professional curriculum signifying that an individual has reached the qualification standard of knowledge in a certain field or profession.

It's an acknowledgment of educational achievement, meaning that you are competent and that you

present authority and credibility.

With most accredited (nationally recognized) certifications, there are also permissions for certain exemptions and for teaching, training or coaching others.

For example my certification professional call centre representative business services from the Centre for Vocational training, actually gave me exemption for the SECC training and certification wich has been made obligatory by the WGCC for every employee working in a facility call center.

But I chose to do the SECC training and exam anyway.

Back to the question, certification or not?

If you are an independent entrepreneur, i would say that the choice is yours.

But if you take your profession seriously then it is advisable.

And as indicated before, it is even possible that in certain cases it is mandatory.

I believe that when a person is certified and has the experience and/or a proven track record of completing delegated tasks in a professional manner then it should be respected.

Which for whatever reason is not always the case. On the other hand respect should be given to anyone who can perform the delegated tasks in a way that is satisfactorily fulfilling the expectations or needs of the client, certified or not. The difference, however, is that when you are certified you will need to demonstrate that you meet the default standard. You'll have to keep proving to others and to yourself that you are worthy of your certification.