Certification – Accreditation – Licensing Information
Certification should not be confused with either licensing or accreditation. While each involves some type of evaluation and the awarding of some type of credential, they are quite different from one another and the terms should not be used interchangeably.
What am I looking for in a course?
There are many unscrupulous companies who will offer an inexpensive course in an unfeasibly short time. These are invariably unaccredited certifications and are inexpensive because they require only the ability to generate a piece of paper bearing an impressive sounding logo, and are worth about as much. Some of these companies will offer a randomly made course that may be of quality, but not tailored to be of any value to your company because they are unlikely to take into account your particular mission needs. Make sure the course fits your needs and meets your criteria whether its for personal awareness, certification, accreditation, or licensure.
What are the benefits of certifications?
Certification is a formal process of making certain that an individual is qualified in terms of particular knowledge or skills. Each certification promotes a standard for recognizing qualifications and validating broad-based knowledge required as the foundation for safe and effective service in their respective field These standards aim to enhance service provision to people with drive who are seeking to maximize their ability to better function in their environment. This is why certification is one way of demonstrating your mastery of a given area of expertise and demonstrates that you made an investment in yourself, your career, and your future. (Additional benefits below)
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Provides documentation of department and individual knowledge and skill referenced to industry recognized standards
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Provides credibility to individual officers and government contractors as meeting professional standards in their field
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Produces portable certificate for individual mobility that can be applied to civilian and military employment opportunities
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Acknowledges an individual’s commitment to ongoing training and life-long learning
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Provides a specific training path for career advancement
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Enhances department and corporation credibility
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Demonstrates department and corporation's commitment to meet or exceed industry recognized standards
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Helps maintain structured training programs that meet established guidelines
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Ensures continual improvement and refinement of department and corporation operations
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Establishes minimum eligibility requirements to receive grants
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Enables efficient hiring of experienced personnel through certification reciprocity
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Provides department and corporation membership with incentives
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Enhances department and corporation's responsibility, commitment, and motivation
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Enables structured career development steps.
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Establishes documentation for department and individual accountability in cases involving litigation
Why should I get certified?
Certification is highly recommended and is some instances required, in order to remain as competitive as possible in today’s job market. Some state licensure boards and some employers may require multiple and diverse certifications. In some case-by-case instances certifications may be a discriminating factor in obtaining or maintaining employment and may be a key element in career advancement.
Will taking your class help me get a job?
Every profession requires a set of general and specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully fulfill job requirements. Employers seek the largest possible return on their investment in human resources and have raised the bar in recent years to ensure they hire and retain the most highly knowledgeable and skilled individuals in their organization.
Definitions
Certificate of Attendance:
An official document used to prove that you have been to a class or course for special training. This certificate is not equivalent to a passing certificate
Certificate of successful Completion:
It is a certificate showing that a student has completed the duration of his or her course. This Certificate may or may not include practical skill evaluation and/or administered written tests.
Certificate of Training
A Certificate of Training, or its equivalent, is a document issued by the training program to an individual who has satisfactorily completed an approved training program and competency test. The certificate includes the dates of training; the number of classroom and/or clinical hours; and the date the certificate was issued.
Professional Certification Level
Is a voluntary process. It identifies and acknowledges the individuals who have met a recognized standard. Usually this standard includes education, experience, and an exam of knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the job. When an individual meets the standard, he or she receives certification from a certifying agency. The credibility and integrity of the certifying agency determines whether the agency’s certification means anything to the public, and therefore, ultimately, its value. Accordingly, certification agencies may seek out recognition by an outside agency that will, in turn, attest to the certifying agency meeting a standard. Generally, this standard involves the qualification requirements to take the exam, whether the exam meets accepted psychometric standards for exam development, how the exam is given and scored, how the agency is administered, and whether its rules are fair.
Accreditation
Is a non- governmental, voluntary process that evaluates institutions, agencies, and educational programs, (i.e., institutions that grant certificates or diplomas) while certification and licensing involve individual practitioners. Accreditation is defined as the process whereby an agency or association grants public recognition to a school, institute, college, university, or specialized program of study (such as a massage training program) for having met certain established qualifications or standards as determined through initial and periodic evaluations that usually involve submitting a self-evaluation report, site inspection by a team of experts, and evaluation by an independent board or commission.
Unaccredited Certification
An unaccredited certificate may not be acceptable to any of the mainstream protective service employers who generally set requirements for their candidates to have the minimum standard. In fact any procurer or hiring manager who knows the difference is unlikely to accept an unaccredited certificate. Although it is not illegal to offer unaccredited certificates to companies, Most quality professionals regard these services as tantamount to fraudulent in they attempt to mislead a potential customer into thinking that the certified company has reached a recognized industry standard in Quality Management when in fact they have only had to satisfy the company offering the certificate, which they can generally do by paying that company's fee.
Licensure
Is a non-voluntary process by which an agency of government regulates a profession. It grants permission to an individual to engage in an occupation if it finds that the applicant has attained the degree of competency required to ensure the public health, safety, and welfare will be reasonably protected. Licensing it always based on the action of a legislative body. Once a licensing law has been passed it becomes illegal for anyone to engage in that occupation unless he or she has a license. The health care professions are typically licensed at the state and/or local level, but not usually at the federal level.
What does all this mean?
In closing, remember each credentialed certificate earned is another testament that promotes quality assurance for the consumer, a source of pride for the service provider, and promotes a standard of professional practice for the field. Receiving the certification enhances your professional credentials and obtaining certification demonstrates your commitment to the field.