Demand for IT certifications on the rise

Computerworld - Rising corporate IT spending is leading to increased demand for workers with certifications in information security, project management and other disciplines, CIOs and IT labor experts said last week.

"We're very interested in project management certifications," said Dan Garrow, senior vice president of information systems and CIO at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. Although certifications don't necessarily guarantee quality or a level of expertise, they are a step in the right direction, he said.

"Knowing someone has at least studied the concepts and has taken the steps to obtain the certifications gives that person a step up over someone who hasn't," said Garrow, who added that he would like Mohegan Sun's five IT project managers to become certified. "If we're ever going to get good at project management, we've got to have a pool of resources who can at least address the fundamentals of this type of work."

Garrow's thirst for certified project managers mirrors the kind of resurgence that IT certifications have been experiencing over the past six months. After the recession of the early 2000s and the resulting decline in IT spending, overall demand for some IT certifications began to soften.

"Employers felt they were held to ransom by people with certifications, and the value proposition dropped," said Martin Bean, chief operating officer at New Horizons Computer Learning Centers Inc., a computer training company in Anaheim, Calif.

Uptick in Demand

But Bean has seen demand for certification courses pick up over the past 12 months, particularly in disciplines such as information security and project management.

Dan Garrow of Mohegan Sun Image Credit: Tracey Kroll

A case in point: 2004 demand for CompTIA's Security+ certification was 28% to 30% higher than expected, and demand for its Linux+ and Project+ certifications also remains strong, McCarthy said.

Now that demand for certification is picking up strength, CompTIA is looking to add certification classes for radio frequency identification and voice over IP. McCarthy said he isn't sure when those courses might be introduced.

Sean Jameson, chief information technology officer at New York University's School of Continuing and Professional Studies, said he believes certification "elevates [a] person in the rankings if they have been awarded or vetted by a particular program or body that they can do what they say they can do." Jameson is currently looking to fill a J2EE Web developer position, "and it would be a huge plus [for a candidate] to have a certification," he said.