The IT program at Marshall County is evaluated by the state of Kentucky based on student achievement in:
- The number of industry certifications (Cisco, Novell, Microsoft, CompTIA, etc.) successfully passed by students. The MC IT program currently prepares students for the CompTIA A+ and the Cisco CCNA certifications.
- Kentucky Occupational Skills Standards Assessment (KOSSA) - Communications - which is a very general exam and will be replaced next year by a KOSSA assessment designed specifically for IT.
So here's the questions I would like to discuss:
- How important are certifications to your business or place of employment?
- How can we motivate students to get industry certifications while in high school?
- What can businesses and teachers do to help students overcome obstacles, such as fear, money, and apathy?
I appreciate your thoughts and feedback!
Cheyenne Koch
3 comments:
1. How important are certifications to your business or place of employment?
As a professor, I can't speak to how much certifications are to us, but I can certainly speak for how important they are for the companies who hire our students. We regularly notice that the students who at least have a CCNA are often times offered more jobs at higher pay than our students who don't complete it. Furthermore, they seem to get better jobs.
To name one example, we have a company in Alabama that hires two of our students each year as penetration testers / security auditors. They only look for 3.5+gpa and at least a CCNA. They pay well and their job is very exciting for the most part. Certifications are so important to many companies that they'll pay more for it and offer preference to students who have it.
2. How can we motivate students to get industry certifications while in high school?
Probably by using stories such as these. Furthermore, I think it would help to have students who have completed it get recognized. Maybe even having a video interview of them talking about the test that you can show to current students who are studying. This would let them be less intimidated, as you were saying. If possible, even having them speak to the class(es) would be very helpful, too.
3. What can businesses and teachers do to help students overcome obstacles, such as fear, money, and apathy?
I have noticed that it is very difficult to get students to understand the importance of things such as gpa, college prep exams, and even general life choices. I think this may simply be because of youth, but setting a positive example is helpful. Also, placing students who have recently succeeded in a certain area in the limelight and talking to other students about why it is important can be helpful. I think that hearing from peers can be an effective motivator and encourager to let students know that they can succeed.
This goes hand in hand with certifications. Also, I think it would be wonderful if a few businesses would consider offering scholarships to students who pass the exam. I know that there is still risk in this -- what happens if the student fails? We probably can't expect a business to sponsor a student who doesn't pass. However, that being said -- a student who has studied hard and has easily passed the test questions on the prep material usually won't fail.
Once the student passes, a press release and photo op w/ the student and sponsoring business in the newspaper would be a great idea.
I believe certifications are an extremely important part of our students education and opportunity for employment. While certifications aren't always a requirement for our school district in hiring, we do look at them as enhanced education and learning. Many school districts are able to use certifications as a means to justify pay increases for technicians and network / systems administrators.
The easiest way to motivate students could be to help offset the cost of the exams for them. If they are provided the incentive of being reimbursed the cost of the exam, assuming they pass - that might create more of a buzz amongst them.
I think the easiest way to help overcome some of these obstacles would be real-world examples. Bring in speakers / business / IT leaders / CIOs to speak to the classes on the importance of such certifications and if they plan to pursue IT as a field what an advantage it is to have these certifications at a young age.
How important are certifications to your busienss or place of employment?
As an IT Manager, I can say that certifications are very important to the job. It lets the company know that these individuals that have certifications have the ability to learn the material. Since someone coming out of school doesn't have that much formal work experience the certifications can set you apart from the rest of the applicants.
2. I suggest that students try to complete certifications that are lifetime certifications or that don't expire for the longest period of time. Once they near graduation and start to enter the workforce then take the certifications that have the shorter explanations. Also, when you search for an employer make sure they will continue to keep your certifications current and help you achieve further certifications that meet their business needs.
What can businesses and teachers do to help students overcome obstacles, such as fear, money and apathy?
There is no greater feeling to know that you passed a certification test. Passing these tests help build confidence in yourself and pride in the job that you do. It gives you credibility that you know what you are talking about and what you do. Overcoming cost is a huge to some students and that is why I recommend only the certifications that will hold you over until you find an employer to help cover the cost of the certification testing process. It can get expensive when trying to do some of the certification paths.
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