Did you read the title? I mean really?
I had a great discussion with a veteran the other day who was talking about branding and universities. He had some great points.
Many of our active duty don’t really understand certifications, and most of the funding sources are aligned with colleges universities. These colleges and universities have brand appeal.
Everyone wants to say they attended a known university like UT, Auburn, UNC, Syracuse, Penn State, USC, Harvard, Stanford etc.
Heck, I would love to say I am an alumni there too.
But what does this have to do with a certification? Everything, and NOTHING.
No one in industry will care what college name is on your training certificate. They only care if you are a certified professional. So find the best program to help you earn the certification, not have a good logo on the completion certificate.
Many universities just sub out cert training to self paced mills who don't really care either.
To further this point: the college doesn’t control the test.
Ok, did you hear me? I mean, really hear me?
Colleges and universities are experts at degrees. They know all the ins and outs of higher education and they control their own degrees.
Certifications are a different world.
In the world of certifications, the test is controlled by an independent organization like the Project Management Institute or others. The test is proctored by a 3rd party to make sure no one can cheat. This world is the expertise of a certification training company, preferably one that is a partner with the governing body that controls the test (hint: PM-ProLearn is an Authorized training partner with PMI).
Being an authorized trainer means that we have to be vetted by PMI (the governing body) and our instructors are also vetted.
It also means that our content is as up to date as possible (usually within 60 days of a change)
What being a certification company also means, is that certifications are our world. They are not a secondary offering that we added on to a degree program and something we hope a few folks take. We train hundreds of students a month.
Now lets talk accreditation. The college accreditation process takes a long time (12-24 months) to make changes to curriculum. This is HUGE when you think that the tests change every 24-48 months or faster. A credit producing course is usually highly regulated.
As a training company, we ensure our content is updated constantly based on any feedback from the governing body and our students. Our instructors are our employees and we train them too.
At the end of the day, industry doesn’t care that PM-ProLearn is on your completion certificate either. They care that you are PMP®, PMI-ACP or Lean Six Sigma certified and are listed as a certified professional.
Don’t get sucked in to the attractiveness of a university brand. I let them be experts in their craft. We have perfected ours.
PM-ProLearn offers the most comprehensive partnership based training program and we would love to help you.
Things to consider:
Instructor: Full time employee or third party?
Delivery: Live, Live Virtual, or only self paced?
Schedule: How often are courses offered?
Materials: How long do you have access to courses and materials?
Inclusions: What beyond the class are you getting? Application help? Exam? Failure re-test?
Access: Can you get one on one coaching with an instructor after class?
Authorized Trainer: Is the content vetted and aligned to the exam?
Cost: Is the program charging all of your benefits? UT Austin, Auburn, etc do.
Do your research. We have. Know what you are getting for the money and look for best value.
Want to learn how to use multiple funding options to get our training free to you? check out this website or email trainingquote@pm-prolearn.com to learn more.