Rethinking Certification - A Professional Trainers Perspective

Having a cheeky crack at the blame on certification and training

As a seasoned trainer who's deeply involved in professional development and adult education, I recognize the difference in the relationship between certification, training, and learning. It's crucial to address a common misconception: Certification is not synonymous with effective training or learning. My expertise lies in providing engaging, interactive training to swiftly onboard professionals in their roles, not in churning out certificates. Yet, the widespread tendency to equate professional trainers with mere certificate dispensers is not only misleading but also unfair.

Training is not certification.

Reflecting on my experience with a previous organization where we developed a certification platform, it was a financially draining venture. The expenses of creating and maintaining a platform, creating professional assessments, and operational costs often outweigh the revenue. Many organizations persist with it, primarily due to consumer demand, not because it's a profitable or efficient model. These certification models lead to other businesses.

Herein lies the dilemma: as much as I'd like to eliminate certification due to its logistical headaches, the reality is different. When promoting training programs, the most frequent question I encounter is, "Will I receive a certificate?" This demand is not just from the candidates but also from hiring managers and recruiters. It's a cycle fuelled by the job market's expectations.  At one point, I stopped offering certification, but prospective customers would go to my competitors. 

This begs the question: Why are training organizations the target of criticism for offering certifications when the demand originates elsewhere? It's also ironic to observe individuals who disparage the concept of certification on social media platforms, yet proudly display their own credentials. The real issue lies with companies that mandate certifications for job roles and part of the recruitment process.

If you want to have cracks at certification,
put that energy into recruitment, not trainers.

Understand hiring managers face their own challenges. With hundreds of applicants for a single position, certifications become a practical tool to filter candidates. They don’t have the time to assess every resume by looking at experience.  Imagine yourself manually reading each resume, looking for experience. Now multiply that by 500 applicants.  This doesn’t excuse the overemphasis on certificates, but it explains the reliance on them.

It's somewhat amusing and ironic to witness a specific fixation on Scrum certifications as the root of all evils in the certification landscape. This narrow view fails to recognize a pattern as old as professional certifications themselves. Whether it's MCP, MCSE, MCSD, A+, CNE, CCNA, PMP in the past, or AWS, CEH, CISSP, and CDP today, the issue is universal and not confined to Scrum. Really, it's not just about Scrum!

It's time to call out this misplaced blame game. The true challenge lies in changing the broader job market's over-reliance on certifications in general. So, for those quick to point fingers at Scrum certifications, maybe it's time to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Let's redirect our energy towards creating a culture that values real skills and experience over a framed certificate. Cheeky? Perhaps. But it's a much-needed perspective shift in an era where the certificate often overshadows the essence of true learning and capability.

As for learning to do the work, pick professional trainers and support them.