Welcome to the latest installment of  Press Pass, where CertMag reports new and recent certification news by blowing through as many industry press releases, blogs, dispatches, messages in a bottle, etc., as we can fit in one post. We’ve got the highlights and you can click straight to the horse’s mouth for more information.

How the other half lives (and works): The conversation about the importance of more women joining the ranks of the global IT workforce has been increasing in volume for many months. Some people are debating the barriers to entry, while other are discussing the ideal recruiting pitch. The British Computer Society has been making a steady push throughout 2014 to underscore the importance of women entering tech professions, and has recently created an intriguing new means of furthering the conversation. After profiling a series of women IT professionals earlier this year, the BCS has now gathered all of the output from that endeavor and given it an online home. There’s a woman with a story to tell about her IT career for nearly every day in the month of May (May 31 features further comments from several of the women interviewed).

Dynamic duo rides again: After doing a little cosplay-lite together last year as exam-minded tandem Super Sigma and Psychomagician, the Microsoft Learning video duo of Briana Roberts and Liberty Munson are back in action together, this time as … themselves. (Booo-ring.) In the second installment of a new series titled ACE (Ask a Certification Expert) Newsbytes, the ladies give a report about a Microsoft Learning pilot program whereby app developers can get certification credit for doing that thing they do. The idea is that those with a particular app-titude for app creation can work toward their Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) credential by creating apps for the Microsoft store. The program was actually announced a few weeks ago, but still has open slots, so … ACE Newsbyte!

Millennials shall inherit IT: If you were born between 1980 and 2000, then congratulations — you are the future of IT. Not the nebulous, unknowable, far-off future, either. Your time is now. This week, in fact. As CompTIA’s ChannelCon rolled forth in Phoenix, CompTIA poobah Todd Thibodeaux took a moment to symbolically toss the keys to the next generation, invoking so-called “millennials” as the future of IT. Thibodeaux said that millennials will occupy 75 percent of IT jobs by 2025, essentially “changing the DNA” of the entire industry. OK, kids, it’s your show now. Just remember to check the tire pressure and the oil, always look for a parking spot where you can pull through, and take it in for a lube every 3,000 miles.

In with the new: The certification program at security solutions provider Symantec is getting an infusion of new blood. Beginning with the Administration of Symantec Control Compliance Suite 11.x credential, released last month, the company will be rolling out seven new cert exams throughout the rest of the year and into May 2015. The other new certs, along with their projected release dates, are as follows:

• Administration of Symantec Data Center Security: Server Advanced 6.0 (September 2014)
• Administration of Symantec Backup Exec 2014 (December 2014)
• Administration of Symantec Enterprise Vault 11.0 (January 2015)
• Administration of Symantec eDiscovery Platform 8.0 (March 2015)
• Administration of Symantec Storage Foundation High Availability for Windows 6.1 (April 2015)
• Administration of Symantec Data Loss Prevention 12.5 (May 2015)

Advise and consent: While we’re still on the topic of IT security, the influential industry group (ISC)2 is taking on a new challenge in the world of app development, which can sometimes seem like a bit of a Wild Wild West. Drawing on top minds from several tech companies, including Cisco, McAfee, Microsoft and HP, (ISC)2 has established an advisory council to encourage adoption of better security practices among apps developers. The Application Security Advisory Council (ASAC) consists of 15 senior software security professionals, who met for the first time last week. The self-appointed mission of the council is to promote “secure software development best practices through professional certification.”