Training is a vital element of job preparation and career development. Even the simplest jobs typically require some level of orientation and walkthrough before a new hire is left alone to start getting work done. On a teenager's first day at a fast food restaurant, they don't just pass out uniforms to newcomers and then expect them start filling orders.

Preparing to tackle a job in the information technology (IT) industry is a serious commitment. Incoming workers typically have years of education and training under their belts by the time they start seeking employment. There are many ways to learn, but certification has become an important pillar of education that supports the IT workforce.

Though it began as a form of professional licensure, a validation of skills acquired by other means, IT certification is increasingly becoming a key source of the skills acquisition it affirms. IT certification has become commonplace in college, university, and high school classrooms. Some certifications — the main example being Microsoft's Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) credentials for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint — are even comfortably within the grasp of junior high and middle school students.

Among adult workers, reskilling is a vitally important sector of IT industry growth, where certification both teaches new skills and validates that they've been internalized successfully. Sometimes a degree of IT certification-assisted reskilling is essential simply to keep moving forward in other industries where technology has become essential to daily operations — setting aside any thought of making the leap to IT.

For the upcoming fall edition of Certification Magazine, we're taking our second crack at assessing how training and certification often go hand-in-hand. (We first visited the topic in 2021.) Instead of focusing on a particular branch of IT, we're gathering information about how IT professionals train. If you've gotten certified at least once, or even if you're in the process of seeking IT certification, then please pull up a chair.

We want to find out all about your certification training experience. Has certification helped you thrive? Are existing certification programs meeting your needs? We also want to get inside the habits of certified professionals a bit and see how certification works for you. All aboard! The Certification Magazine survey train is boarding at the station.

As we always do, we've added a dash of incentive to participate. If you take the Certification Training Survey all the way to the end, we'll thank you with either (or both!) of two rewards. You can get a free digital copy of the next issue of Certification Magazine. Or get a one-year print subscription at 40 percent off the normal cost. (Hate making decisions? Get 'em both! We don't mind.)

BIG THANKS to everyone who participated in our 2023 Certification Training Survey! Watch for the results to appear the forthcoming 2023 Fall Edition of Certification Magazine.

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