Over the past several months, there have been a number of excellent blogs written about SAP's certification program (reference the blogs written in the SCN SAP Education blog category: http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/weblogs/topic/131). As a result of these writings, we have witnessed firsthand the passion that SAPers have for the SAP ecosystem. And afterall, isn't that exactly what our customers deserve?
My goal with this blog is simple: let's talk about the value of certification and if YOU choose to pursue certification, introduce you to SAP Education's North America certification promotion at Pearson VUE.
LAYING THE FOUNDATION
Starting with the value of certification, I found an interesting non-SAP website that talks to this point: http://seacrestcompany.blogspot.com/2007/08/value-of-accreditation.html. Here are a couple of highlights that I find interesting from the website:
For certificants, certification...
- Provides personal accomplishment
- Supports continued professional development
- Demonstrates a high level of commitment to the field of practice
- Meets employer requirements
For employers, certification...
- Improved customer satisfaction
- Increased competence level of employees
- Used in making employment decisions
- Provides professional development opportunities for employees
- Ongoing enhancement of of knowledge and skills
- Increased confidence in employees' abilities
- Demonstrates employers' commitment to competence
For the public, certification...
- Helps identify qualified service providers
- Increases confidence in service providers
So, does certification itself provide value? For the reasons mentioned above, I believe it does but wrap SAP certification with a person's practical SAP experience and you have an unbeatable combination. The process of becoming certified also offers another benefit - sharpen your critical thinking skills and cultivate your critical thinking spirit. While certification exams test your knowledge about SAP topics, the process of becoming certified (via whatever training preparation method you choose to employ) enhances your critical thinking abilities. I found quite a few definitions of critical thinking/critical thinkers on the internet but the one that hits home to me is this one - critical thinkers distinguish between fact and opinion; ask questions; make detailed observations; uncover assumptions and define their terms; and make assertions based on sound logic and solid evidence. This same logic can be applied to our certification discussion - the value of SAP certification lies in the journey one takes and the abilities/techniques learned (both SAP and non-SAP) along the way.
NORTH AMERICA CERTIFICATION PROMOTION
To assist you toward your 2010 certification goals, SAP Education North America has created a promotion code to be used to take discounted SAP certification exams at our exam delivery partner, Pearson VUE. Here are the details:
PROMOTION CODE: 10CERTLI
VALIDITY PERIOD: June 1 - December 31, 2010
TO BE USED AT: Pearson VUE only ( http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Epearsonvue%2Ecom%2Fsap%2F&urlhash=PfI6 )
DETAILS: 50% off ALL certification exams taken at North American Pearson VUE locations
IMPORTANT: The promotion code can be used multiple times if needed.
LIST OF EXAMS AT PEARSON VUE: http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Epearsonvue%2Ecom%2Fsap%2Fexamlist%2F&urlhash...
SAP CERTIFICATION PROGRAM WEB RESOURCES IN NORTH AMERICA:
