Transforming Skills

Management into Strategic

Business Enablement
Microsoft Certification Helps
Organizations and Individuals
Thrive Through Change and
Get Ready for the Future

Enhancements made by Microsoft to its
certification program make certifications
more meaningful and practical than ever,
helping companies recruit the best
candidates for their open positions and
helping individual professionals chart a
strategy for more rewarding employment
with lifelong learning.
Two Microsoft Gold Certified Partners and
Certified Partners for Learning Solutions
(CPLS), Global Knowledge and New Horizons
Southern California, offer a wide range of
training and certification programs to prepare
organizations and individual professionals for
the future. As both partners’ research and
experience show, Microsoft Certification plays
a critical role in helping companies realize the
full benefits of the technology that they invest
in.
Global Knowledge: Training and
Certification at a Global Level
Founded in 1995, Global Knowledge employs
more than 1,300 people worldwide. Corporate
headquarters are in Cary, North Carolina.
Global Knowledge operates training centers
across the United States and in 22 other
countries. The company serves business
customers of any organizational type in all
industries. With Global Knowledge’s worldwide
presence and advanced training-delivery
system—which combines on-site, virtual, and
mobile training and certification offerings—the
Fortune 100 companies are a target market of
great value for the company. Sales executives
closely follow these companies’ activities and
technological changes so that they can assist
with skills management and certification
planning. Global Knowledge’s business is
growing as companies are once again
allocating larger budgets to training and
certification.
Global Knowledge offers Microsoft technology
training, extending the Microsoft curriculum
with additional content designed to help
students address the challenges they find in
their role and organization. Global Knowledge
training labs provide a rich learning
environment, incorporating virtual machines to
give students wide exposure to the particular
capabilities, opportunities, and challenges
associated with technologies they learn about.
In addition, boot camps take students through
two days of highly intensive preparation,
followed by a certification exam. Many Global
Knowledge customers pair the skills transfer
training with a subsequent boot camp and
certification. The company delivers these
programs in its own facilities and remote
channels, or on-site at customer locations.
Setting up a training location and then
adjusting it to serve as a certification exam
facility is a turnkey operation that requires
efficient setup of desktops and servers.
Most instructors at Global Knowledge teach
Microsoft technology and other domains, such
as Cisco networking tools or project
management skills. The majority of instructors
are contractors who run their own business

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and can bring a practical, real-world
perspective to the learning environment.
Assessing the markets from time to time in
research projects, Global Knowledge can offer
clear evidence for the value of training and
certification. The company’s “2010 IT Skills
and Salary Report” notes that both managers
and team members in IT departments
overwhelmingly agree that training and
certification have a positive impact on job
performance. Findings also show
professionals who obtained an IT or project
management certification during the last five
years earned an average of U.S.$5,242 more
per year than their peers without certification.
Of the 20 most popular certifications in the
industry, five are from Microsoft. One of the
Microsoft Certifications, Microsoft Certified
Technology Specialist (MCTS), especially
helps boost earning power when professionals
hold several MCTS qualifications. The
professionals with multiple MCTS designations
earn $13,000 more per year on average than
those with a single MCTS certification.
Craig Brown, Practice Leader – Microsoft at
Global Knowledge, is involved in the design of
many of the company’s training and
certification offerings and provides critical
collaboration with the enterprise sales team.
Brown is enthusiastic about the company’s
certification offerings and Microsoft
Certification in particular. “I’m very proud of our
large-scale certification offerings, where we
often get hundreds of people in Microsoft
partner companies to obtain the right
certifications to qualify the organization for
“Certification should
figure into a company’s
strategy and planning,
because assisting your
people to perform at
their best level enables
the organization to
succeed. As an
employer, you may be
concerned that you
invest in training and
certification and people
leave for another job.
But what if you don’t
make the investment,
and they stay?”
— Craig Brown, Practice
Leader – Microsoft, Global
competency participation and help it make a
Knowledge
compelling business case for its expertise,”
says Brown. “Microsoft Certification today
demonstrates that an IT professional has
deep-reaching, practical insight into a
particular technology. This is far more valuable
for employers and their people than more
broad-ranging certifications with less
definition.”
As Brown goes on to explain, “Training without
certification is never quite complete because
the learner’s achievement is not validated.
Certification, especially with the specificity
Microsoft has introduced in Microsoft Certified
IT Professional (MCITP) and other
certifications, helps an employer verify with
great efficiency that a candidate has exactly
the skills the company needs. Certification
connects directly to productivity, and people
who obtain certification tend to be more
satisfied employees, commit more to their
jobs, and accomplish more. Certification
should figure into a company’s strategy and
planning, because assisting your people to
perform at their best level enables the
organization to succeed. As an employer, you
may be concerned that you invest in training
and certification and people leave for another
job. But what if you don’t make the investment,
and they stay?”
Global Knowledge includes a certain amount
of behavior modification in its learning and
certification offerings. Brown states, “Some
highly motivated students will learn whatever
they like through self-study. But many people
need the interaction with an instructor and
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other students. For them, distance learning is

too easily interrupted by distractions on the
job. That’s also why our boot camps lead
directly to certification. You don’t want life
getting in the way. The longer people wait to
take the certification exam after completing
training and preparation, the lower the success
rate.” The company is currently experimenting
with ways to provide the most direct,
meaningful learning experience for students
who join an instructor-led course remotely from
their offices or homes. Says Brown, “There are
many opportunities to enrich training delivery
through the cloud and encourage students to
participate intensely. As we integrate live
relationships more into this learning scenario,
it will become more effective and give us
greater flexibility in serving our customers.”
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New Horizons Southern California: Serving the business, consumer, and public-
Preparing Individuals and Organizations to sector markets, New Horizons Southern
Grow and Thrive California supports a broad range of
A franchise in the New Horizons Worldwide
customers—small and large companies across
network, the world’s largest independent IT
all industries; early-career, midcareer, and
training provider with more than 300 learning
transitioning individual professionals; and any
centers in 60 countries, New Horizons
type of public-sector entity. After people have
Southern California serves individuals and
been through a New Horizons Southern
business customers at five locations in its
California program, the company makes
geographical area. The company offers
placement services available to them.
training and certification for products from
leading companies, such as Microsoft and
Part of New Horizons Southern California’s
Cisco, and in disciplines that are not confined
portfolio is an infrastructural learning
to a specific technology, including information
assessment, which includes a review of an
security, project management, and healthcare
organization’s training, certification, and skills
management.
management needs. Tina Travierso, Director
of Partner Relations and Marketing at New
New Horizons Southern California delivers
Horizons Southern California, explains,
training in its classrooms, online, at customer
“Companies often invest in new technologies,
locations, and through mentored learning,
but may lack the skills to deploy them
which lets students move forward at their own
effectively. They only use a small part of the
pace and provides extensive instructor
capabilities they purchase or, as long as 18
interaction and guidance. The company also
months after they acquired a new solution,
offers boot camp programs for professionals
they may not have implemented it at all. In
who obtained older Microsoft Certification
consequence, they often spend large amounts
levels, such as Microsoft Certified Systems
on customized capabilities or workarounds.
Engineer (MCSE) or Microsoft Certified
When deployment delays are related to skills
Systems Administrator (MCSA) certifications,
gaps, we can show business executives how
to help them update their skills and transition
Microsoft Certification for their IT team
to the newer, more specialized Microsoft
members can help them gain the full value of
Certifications. New Horizons Southern
their technology investments and realize huge
California offers certification exams facilitated
cost savings.”
by Prometric and Pearson VUE at its locations.
In addition to learners who received training
Although not all employers understand the
from the company, people who have gained
relevance of Microsoft Certification, individual
their skills elsewhere can also take these
professionals have presented New Horizons
exams.
Southern California with increased demand for
certification-directed training and exams.
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Almost 100 percent of the individuals who
engage with the company on their own, rather
than through an employer, pursue certification.
Rebecca Bergstrom, Special Projects and
Marketing Manager at New Horizons Southern
California, has received requests from
students who want to show their employers
that certification can have benefits for a
company. “Many times, individuals make the
business case for certification to their
managers,” Bergstrom comments. “It’s often
different in the public sector, where many
organizations follow directives or initiatives that
require technical certification from vendors or
job candidates.” When New Horizons Southern
California approaches potential business
customers, the conversation most often starts
with the IT managers, who are usually more
aware of skills gaps and the value of
certification than human resources managers
are.
New Horizons Southern California uses
independent research, including reports from
Robert Half Technology, to help set the proper
context for certification. A Robert Half
Technology report, “IT Hiring and
Compensation Trends 2010,” states that CIOs
and IT managers can’t easily find properly
qualified IT professionals for their
organizations. The right technical qualifications
help boost an IT professional’s chances of
finding rewarding employment, and
certification is seen by hiring managers as
evidence of a person’s skill and expertise. As
the report mentions, Microsoft Certifications
are among the most highly valued.
Certifications also demonstrate a job
candidate’s initiative and readiness to engage
in lifelong learning.
Business managers and instructors at New
Horizons Southern California like the changes
Microsoft has made to the certifications in
recent years, for example, by introducing
specialized certification in MCTS and MCITP
categories. Megan Nolan, Director of Sales at
New Horizons Southern California, says, “In
the past, Microsoft Certification was of a more
general nature, and professionals would take
significant time away from work to be certified.
With the highly practical specializations in the
MCTS and MCITP certifications, people don’t
have to take as many classes to become
certified, certification is clearly connected to
defined technical expertise with Microsoft
products, and companies can gain a much
faster return on a much smaller investment in
training and certification. As a result, it has
become much easier to have productive
conversations with business decision makers
who are responsible for skills management in
their companies.” Instructor David Metzgar
adds, “MCSE and MCSA professionals usually
received their certifications in 2003 or earlier,
for the technologies available at the time. The
professionals can be confused by the newer
certifications, but they always see the value
when we explain the differences and how they
can incorporate updated certification into their
career path. They also appreciate that the
exams assess their expertise by reflecting
real-life work scenarios.”
For the New Horizons Southern California
team, there is no doubt that Microsoft
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Certification is important to employers and
individuals. As Cindy Sutherland, Career
Development Director at New Horizons
Southern California, explains, “Especially in a
bad economy, employers can be more
selective in reviewing candidates.
Certifications help a person stand out from the
crowd. The stamp of approval from Microsoft
speaks volumes about a candidate’s
professional qualification, willingness to learn,
and readiness to make a strong contribution in
a new role.” Instructor Bill Berger, who is also
responsible for the Mentored Learning offering,
comments, “Companies receive as many as
400 resumes for a single opening in the IT
department. Microsoft Certification is a strong
testament to professional expertise.
Companies and hiring managers also
understand that certification requires
commitment and courage, and the people who
gained certification may operate from a
mindset of feeling confident and looking for the
best way to make an impact.”
Travierso, Sutherland, and their colleagues
help individuals access government resources
for training and certification that have become
available through the federal Workforce
Investment Act, more recent stimulus funding,
and other measures. These resources are
particularly important for people who are
underemployed or unemployed. New Horizons
Southern California also works hard to show
companies that investing in their current
employees may make better business sense
than restructuring the workforce. Says
Sutherland, “It is generally much less
expensive and disruptive to provide training
and certification to people who are already
with the company than to hire people with the
certifications a business looks for. These
certified employees also are more loyal and
stay longer in their jobs.”
As instructors and business managers at New
Horizons Southern California experience,
generational and technological changes boost
interest in certification as more professionals
with their own certifications move into
executive roles and vendors like Microsoft
continue to make certification programs more
relevant and practical. And, although the
company will continue to offer a variety of
learning channels, instructor-led training
leading to certification is here to stay.
Instructor Bill Sullivan says, “People go to a
class to prepare for certification because they
want the interaction with their peers and with
the instructor. MCITP training, for one,
involves a lot of practical reasoning where
learners can really enrich each other’s
experience.” Sybil Earl, Director of Operations
and Instructor Manager at New Horizons
Southern California, explains, “We know that
Microsoft Certification of IT professionals has
an immediate impact on successful and
complete technology implementations. In
many of the instructor-led training courses, we
meet people who have to resolve an
implementation that didn’t go entirely well.
They look to Microsoft Certification to help
them gain and validate the skills their
organization needs, and often are very
enthusiastic about learning from the
experience of other students.”
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For more information about Microsoft Certification, go to

www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/cert-overview.aspx or contact Amber Reed at
amreed@microsoft.com.

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