Live-in-the-App Industry Certifications for Future Careers

“Industry certifications are an excellent way for students to set themselves apart, to increase their pay, or to open new job opportunities and careers. Our certifications provide a real advantage with its Live-in-the-App testing components, which validate that test-takers can ‘write the code’ or ‘manage the website’ with real hands-on skills. More than demonstrating that you are good at taking tests, these certifications demonstrate that you can get the task done; and get the job.” Bryan Whatley, Chief Academic Officer at Knowledge Pillars.

Why certifications are still relevant

You wouldn’t board a plane if your pilot did not hold the credentials, he or she needed to get you from Florida to California. In the computer science or tech industry, the same holds true. Certifications offer a first impression, validate skills, and help employers seek out and pre-select potential candidates who meet the minimum criteria. For students entering the job market or new to IT, a credential could be the deciding factor for the employer because it proves that the candidate has the baseline experience and knowledge. Certifications also help create a learning journey for life-long learners with a starting point and unlimited potential destinations with opportunities to diversify skills at a later stage. Computer and information technology (IT) professionals made a median salary of $91,250 in May 2020, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That’s significantly more than the median salary for all occupations, which was $41,950. Besides the level of experience, skill set, cost of living and education level, certification is one of the main factors considered to influence salary levels. ACTE Career Tech skills statistics show that the nation’s projected deficit of skilled workers is 6.5M. Career and technical education is the answer and certification is the best way to bridge skills learned in the classroom and preparing for college or an in-demand job in IT or tech infrastructure!

Why skills specific credentials are important for CTE students

Certifications are an important part of preparing students for college or work. Certifications like the ones offered by Knowledge Pillars help students to validate specific skills in coding languages or web-editing that can be used across multiple verticals in software development and programming fields.

According to the experts from the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network curated in partnership with Prof. Dr. Isabell M. Welpe, Chair for Strategy and Organization, and Felix Rank, Research Fellow, at the Technical University of Munich; technological innovation is fundamentally transforming education, and updating the skills required for modern work. Building future-ready (and pandemic-proof) education systems require curricula fit for the 21st century, coupled with the consistent delivery of widely accessible instruction that builds a solid foundation for a lifetime of adapting and developing new abilities. Specialized education should focus on skills that are in demand in the real world and address the disconnect between employer needs and available talent pools.

Moreover, the WEF strategic intelligence report shows that education typically ends at an early stage of life, to the detriment of workers and employers. In Europe and the US, demand for physical and manual skills in repeatable tasks is expected to decline by 30% in the coming decade, according to McKinsey & Company, while demand for technological skills like coding is expected to increase by more than 50%.  

While governments consider reviewing and updating curricula to focus more strongly on the distinct elements of talents (DELTA’s) to prepare for the future world of work many institutions advise introducing dynamic skill-based certification systems as occupation-based qualifications risk becoming outdated more rapidly as occupations requiring new skills start to emerge.

Years ago, schools provided educational experiences to plan, build, fabricate, and maintain the designed world in the form of industrial arts or industrial technology. These were designed to teach skills that today would be considered hobby-type interests. CTE courses are geared toward (H3) “High Skill, High Wage, High Demand” career opportunities. They are not designed to limit a student’s future in a particular job, but rather serve as a gateway to a career pathway with growth potential. That’s why Knowledge Pillars designs certifications that are focused on specific coding languages or web-editing platforms like WordPress, one credential per language to narrow the focus on a particular skill set that is in demand, relevant and continues to pay well. Students with validated coding skills can apply for more than 10 different occupations that include: Computer Programming, Web Development, Front-End Development, Back-End Development, Full-Stack Development, Software Application Development, Computer Systems Analyst, Computer Systems Engineering, Network Systems Administration or Database Administration.

Why Knowledge Pillars live-in-the-app certifications make the difference

Knowledge Pillars vendor-neutral live-in-the-app certifications and practice tests are designed to test specific skills. These state-approved certification exams can also easily be incorporated into the middle school, K-12, post-secondary, and technical college curriculum. All exams go through quality standard settings to make sure they align to psychometric parameters, making our certifications a top set of credentials available worldwide uniquely differentiating those candidates that ‘know’ from those who can ‘do’.

The Live-in-the-App (LITA) exam format uses leading-edge technology when validating coding, editing or design application knowledge and abilities through certifications. This technology tests the candidate’s ability to perform actual coding or editing in the application to accurately complete tasks. This is a new and improved methodology for testing that includes industry-related scenario-based tasks and offers an intuitive user interface. Knowledge Pillars offers a remote proctoring option to support educators and students learning and taking exams at home. Test-takers can expect exam results immediately if taken in a classroom environment, or within 72 hours if through remote proctoring; practice tests are also available to support the preparation of the actual exam.

We aim to offer certification credentials that are unique, first to market, industry-relevant, and authentic. We are committed to developing certification exams that are aligned to the needs of the market, employing extensive research on existing skills gaps, digital business, and hiring trends. As a result, Knowledge Pillars aims to launch 5-8 new certifications in 2022.

What teachers are doing to counter certifications that have been retired

With so many certifications in the market being occupation focused, many have seen retirement without replacement. We’re excited to offer educators across the US an alternative to validating skills in computer science, digital media, journalism, yearbook, marketing, and business and other aligned CTE classes using Knowledge Pillars exams ranging from WordPress, Python and HTML & CSS, JavaScript, Java, and many others.