Certification à-Go-Go at SAPPHIRE NOW/SAP TechEd Madrid
“I do believe certifications hold added value. It’s not just the certification that matters. The journey that gets you to that point is also important, and it shows you have willingness to learn”.
Powerful words indeed — excerpted from a recent blog posted to the SAP Community Network by technical consultant and SAP Mentor Tom Cenens, in which he outlined what it takes to achieve SAP HANA certification.
SAP Education has been hard at work in 2012 to expand and improve its global certification program, and it’s folks like Tom who are among those best placed to share their views on the subject. And Tom will do exactly that in an expert networking session, during which he will further expand on his experiences detailed in his blog: Preparing for HANA: How to Achieve SAP Certified Technology Associate Certification. In Tom’s session, you can learn about the SAP HANA courses on offer, which alternative paths are available, learn how you can set up your own hands-on environment, and get tips and tricks to prepare for certification in SAP HANA.
Beyond the red-hot topic of SAP HANA certification, there’s a wider world of certifications available from SAP Education. Explaining it all will be Sue Martin, global director of SAP Education’s certification program. In her session, Sue will provide an update on the latest certifications and share SAP’s roadmap for Certification in 2013. And with most roads at SAP invariably leading back to SAP HANA, Sue will also take the opportunity to officially launch the new SAP HANA Professional Exam.
Here are the details for these two Expert Networking Sessions on Certification:
SAP HANA Technology Certification with Tom Cenens
Tuesday, Nov. 13
SAP TechEd, Lounge 7
1:00-1:30 pm
SAP Certification: Fuel Your Career with Sue Martin
Wednesday, Nov.14
Lounge 4, Hall 8
2:30-3:00 pm
Don’t miss out! Thanks to sessions like these, this year’s co-located SAPPHIRE NOW/SAP TechEd Madrid event has all the earmarks of becoming known as Certification à Go-Go!
SAP Certification is the mark of excellence organizations seek. From conveying your own firm's expertise to determiningcurrent skill sets, SAP Certification provides a clear and easily understood
assessment.
Hi Christian
Can you provide some insight into why you believe "SAP Certification is the mark of excellence organizations seek" as there have been several things written over the last year that shows in the Americas for example less than 1% of the job postings even mention certification.
On a side note I have two SAP Certifications and have never been asked once anything about them or to provide verification (which was supposed to be a major deliverable this year)
Thanks,
Jarret
Hi Jarret,
Thank you for your reply. It was very useful to get your views. I see your point and understand that we have work to do change impressions of our certification program. In the session Sue Martin will give in Madrid there will be much more detail about improvements and changes to the program.
Also there will be the Certification & Enablement Influence Council meeting in Madrid with several SAP Mentors, customers, and partners. After SAPPHIRE, Sue will post a blog to SCN to share the recommendations of the council, give a recap of her session in Madrid, and then hopefully some more of your concerns will be addressed.
Thank you again,
Christian
SAP Education has placed renewed emphasis on certification because of the research that we are seeing. For example, in recent research from the global analyst firm IDC, 80% of IT Managers surveyed identified "skill of the team" as the most significant factor in determining project success. The IDC research also found that:
These are compelling facts. Why would we not take them seriously? I look forward to hearing about the Madrid discussions around certification. Let's keep this conversation active.
Diane those are good points. What is your plan to get your customers to care about SAP certification and make that a more firm requirement when they evaluate consultants and employees for their teams? If customers don't care about SAP certification - and they don't at this point - then consultants, partners and other firms won't invest in it either.
SAP certification could be fine for measuring technical skills, but that is an increasingly smaller part of the job for many functional consultants. Business process knowledge, teamwork, communication and leadership skills are also very important and I don't know that SAP certification gives anyone an indication of a person's skills on those areas.
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your reply. I think one answer lies in the program we put together around certification for the event in Madrid. This is the kind of conversation we do want to have with customers and partners in the Certification Council meeting mentioned by my colleague above, as well as during the sessions highlighted in this post.
Our global certification director, Sue Martin, who will be hosting the council meeting and conducting a session, capture the essence of these discussions in a post-event blog. I will share your thoughts with her in advance of the session.
Many thanks and stay tuned for more,
Diane
Hi Sarah
Can you expand on your "Firing on all Cylinders in 2012" as to what has been accomplished especially as it relates to some of the great recommendations made by the Certification 5 a few years back or this excellent blog by SAP Mentor John Appleby
http://scn.sap.com/people/dahowlett/blog/2010/04/20/sap-certification-the-certification-5-report
http://scn.sap.com/community/training-and-education/blog/2012/05/26/how-sap-should-fix-its-broken-education-system
One of my criticisms of the SAP Eductation group has been making marketing claims of successes before they have occurred and this article "feels' in the same vein at a quick glance.
Thanks,
Jarret
Hi Jarret,
By using the expression “firing on all cylinders”, I intended to convey the meaning “approaching with intense vigor and energy” and with “passion and sense of purpose”.
So when you read the statement “SAP Education has been firing on all cylinders in 2012 to expand and improve its global certification program…”, the context here is merely that the team has been hard at work to expand and improve the global certification program. No further claims are made or intended. Hope this helps!
Best regards,
Sarah
Hi Sarah
I think for most people "firing on all cylinders' means "getting a lot accomplished" and approaching with intense vigor and energy" and "passion and sense of purpose" means something very different. The reason I mention this is the SAP Education group has repeatedly sent glowing review on certification such as
The Value of Certification is Undisputed
SAP Certification is on Par with Cisco
INCREDIBLE! OVER 5,000 STUDENTS ALREADY TRAINED WORLDWIDE IN SAP HANA
Yet if you read the comments in any of those blogs as well as blogs by community members and SAP mentors such as
How SAP should fix its broken Education System
Top 10 Myths about SAP Certification
SAP HANA Certification
Respect SAP Certification
DOs & DON’Ts for SAP Career (Certification) on the basis of my on going journey from an Accountant to SAP FI Consultant.SAP Certification Sale is Bad News
You get a sense that firing on all cylinders gives the impression these concerns are being addressed especially since the SAP Education made several commitments/promises in the comments of each and in blogs such as this
On a side note I would say a program like the SAP HANA Distinguish Engineer although new is the type of community (and education) program that REALLY is "firing on all cylinders".
Thanks
Jarret
Hi Jarret,
It’s an idiom which upon more intensive online searches does reveal both my understanding of the phrase as well as yours. So to remove any ambiguity, I have amended the phrase to read “hard at work” – which as I noted above was my only intent.
Hopefully this clears things up for all readers of this post.
Thanks again!
Sarah