Cisco certifications CCENT, CCNA

Whether it’s a farmer checking crop prices on the Internet, a small business working with remote suppliers or a huge corporation conducting business worldwide, local and global economic growth depends on networks.
In fact, by enabling communication, collaboration and automation, networks have become so essential that the demand for IT professionals who can build, manage and update them is growing exponentially. The worldwide gap between skilled networking professionals and available networking jobs of all types is expected to reach nearly 3 million by 2012. Further, an IDC white paper found 60,000 new IT professionals will be needed each year for the next three years in North America alone.
The roles and needed skills of networking professionals are changing as well, as networks are changing to deliver new capabilities. In fact, as more and more critical business functions move into the fabric of the data center, entirely new job roles are emerging. The next generation of IT workers will be able to specialize more quickly than their predecessors and focus on new technologies such as voice, security and wireless mobility.
And employers increasingly will look to hire such specialists. A worldwide study by Forrester Consulting found that more companies expect to add dedicated jobs for network security, voice and wireless LANs within five years.
Not surprisingly, the majority of respondents to the Forrester survey said professional certifications will become essential for candidates who want jobs involving advanced networking knowledge and skills. To better prepare the architects of the networked economy for today’s challenges, Cisco has aligned its portfolio to these new job roles and has updated a number of its certifications, increasing the pathways that IT professionals can take to develop their careers.

Cisco CCENT: Expanding the Entry-Level Workforce

Cisco’s newest associate level certification, Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT), validates the skills required to successfully install and verify small routed and switched networks. Students who attain this level of certification have developed basic network configuration, verification and other operational skills required for positions such as help-desk technician and technical support assistant.
The certification is an accessible point of entry for people beginning a career in networking and an optional first step to the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification, which signifies a comprehensive understanding of networking fundamentals. CCNA also is a prerequisite to earning higher-level Cisco career certifications.

CCNA: Specializing Early in a Networking Career

Although IP telephony, security and wireless mobility are considered advanced networking technologies, they quickly are becoming a standard part of many networks. Knowledge of only the networking fundamentals may no longer be enough for career success. Networking professionals today benefit from a specialty focus early in their careers.
CCNA Voice, CCNA Security and CCNA Wireless certifications verify that networking candidates have the specialized skills that are in high demand among employers. These new concentrations extend a candidate’s knowledge of routing and switching gained from attaining the prerequisite CCNA certification.
CCNA Voice certification helps prepare learners for jobs such as voice administrator, voice engineer and voice manager. This certification indicates that students are familiar with unified communications applications and architectures, and it validates their skills in configuring and managing the latest technologies for a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) infrastructure.
CCNA Security certification offers a valuable credential for those in jobs such as network security specialist, security administrator and network security support engineer. This certification verifies the ability to manage security devices, implement security policies and mitigate risks. For those ready to advance in an exciting security career, the CCNA Security certification serves as preparation for pursuing the Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP) certification.
CCNA Wireless certification is designed for those working as network associates or administrators, wireless support specialists and wireless local area network (LAN) project managers. This certification confirms skills in configuring, implementing and supporting Cisco wireless LANs in small and medium-sized business and enterprise installations. In the future, CCNA Wireless certification holders will have the option of pursuing higher-level Cisco certifications for wireless networks.

CCDE: Designing Next-Generation Networks

Responding to strong customer demand for professionals who can collaborate on network architecture strategy and not just implement, Cisco has introduced an expert-level certification focused on design: Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE). This certification program applies a solutions-based educational approach and serves the growing number of networking experts who have the knowledge to assess network business requirements and translate them into effective network designs.
Approximately 30 percent of those who hold Cisco’s highest certification — Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) — are responsible for network design each day. However, these design experts are no longer involved in hands-on configuration, but rather in strategic design and architecture. The CCDE certification was created to provide IT professionals who specialize in network design with a credential that recognizes senior-level expertise and provides incentives for experienced practitioners to continue their professional development.
The CCDE curriculum includes sophisticated, multi-vendor network design principles, theory and analysis, as well as strategic architecture concepts that go beyond the network. Modeled after the CCIE expert-level certification, the CCDE credential requires passing a two-part exam: a qualification exam and a practical exam.

Cisco Updates Provide Up-Skilling for Today's Networking Space

By Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn — December 2008

Entry-Level Certs Fill Skills Gap

Certifications for workers in the information technology industry, historically targeted at professionals with at least a few years of experience on the job, are more and more being tailored for entry-level candidates.
For certifying bodies, the shift is aimed in part at addressing shortages of certain technology skills that are impacting the industry and have the potential to be even more problematic in the not-so-distant future.
For workers new to the high-tech sector, the emergence of new certification options at the entry level is good news.
Even in a market in which companies say technical skills are lacking, employers are more demanding and selective in their searches for technology workers.
Individuals securing jobs in today’s tech workplace are equipped with greater versatility and a broader skill set than was required in the past. An industry-recognized certification puts the worker — even an entry-level worker — in a stronger position with prospective employers. Certifications are a clear indicator for the employer that the individual who wants a job has the skills to perform the tasks.

Meeting Demand

IT jobs are among the 10 hardest jobs to fill, according to an April 2008 survey by Manpower. Nearly 25 percent of employers surveyed for Manpower said they are having problems filling open jobs because of a lack of talent.
Today’s IT jobs are more complicated than they were 10 or 20 years ago. Applications, networks and systems call for IT professionals with a much broader set of skills, even at the entry level.
Multiple studies suggest there will be a wide gap in the next five to 10 years between the demand for IT workers and the supply of workers with the right technical skills. Research firm IDC puts that gap at 40 percent.
A 2008 study commissioned by CompTIA that surveyed more than 3,500 IT managers in 14 countries found that there are gaps in several critical technical areas. There is a wide gap between the IT security skills that organizations want and the corresponding skills that workers bring to the job.
Among organizations surveyed in nine countries with established IT industries — Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States — 73 percent identified security, firewalls and data privacy as the IT skills most important to their organizations. But just 57 percent said their IT employees are proficient in these security skills, a gap of 16 percentage points.
The gap is even wider in five countries where the emergence of a strong IT industry is relatively recent: China, India, Poland, Russia and South Africa. Among respondents in these countries, 76 percent identified security as the top skill their organizations need, but just 57 percent said their current tech staffs are proficient in security. That’s a difference of 19 percentage points.
Other skills with significant gaps between importance and proficiency are soft skills — such as customer service, sales, project management, communication — and nonspecific server technology including database, storage, maintenance and administration.
Development of new entry-level IT certifications and the refinement of existing certifications are intended to address this critical skill issue, according to Gretchen Koch, director of skills development for CompTIA.
“It gets back to enlarging the number of IT professionals and keeping the pipeline of workers filled,” she said.
Adobe Systems is among the major players in the IT industry that have expanded their certification programs to include more entry-level candidates.
In June 2007, Adobe Systems launched the first in a new line of entry-level certifications for its software. Targeted at high school and college students and entry-level workers, the Adobe Certifications exams are intended to test a candidate’s ability to use Adobe’s multimedia, video, graphic and Web software. The first offerings are tied to Adobe’s Flash and Dreamweaver products, with other certifications to roll out later this year.
“Adobe is committed to offering educators the resources to give students the necessary digital media skills to succeed in today’s highly competitive workplace,” said Megan Stewart, director of K-12 education at Adobe. “We can offer teachers and students the ability to not only learn to use Adobe’s industry-standard digital communications tools, but to validate the skills and competencies that they have acquired.”
“It’s a market plan that allows Adobe to increase the user base that’s knowledgeable about its programs and is capable of entering the higher-level certifications when they become professionals in the field,” said David Saedi, president and chief executive officer of Certiport, which Adobe partnered with in developing its certifications. “Trying to verify how many people out there qualify for a particular job is difficult. By [knowing] the number of people using Adobe programs in high schools and colleges around the world, it will give us a much better feel for the ebb and flow of talent coming into the market.”

Entering With Acumen

The CompTIA A+ certification has been revised to reflect the evolution of skills required for individuals embarking on careers in technology, which includes the need for technical, business, communication and personal skills.
“The role of the IT professional is more strategic for organizations, and technical skills alone are no longer enough for most IT jobs,” Koch said. “More than ever, companies value employees who can think strategically and communicate effectively, as well as those who possess strong business fundamentals. IT workers who understand how to use technology to meet business goals, and who can articulate this understanding, are golden in the eyes of employers.”
Though IT certifications take time, effort and resources — including money — to attain, the return on investment can be significant. Certification in the IT industry is critical for getting your foot in the door. Employers are looking for job candidates with some level of industry knowledge. What better way for an entry-level worker to demonstrate his or her knowledge than by obtaining a recognized industry credential?


by John Venator


John Venator is the president and chief executive officer of the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). He can be reached at editor@certmag.com.