A+ becomes new entry point

By Adam Gifford

ANY job involving computers will increasingly require A+ certification, says an American computer industry leader, John Venator.

Mr Venator is the chief executive of the Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) which put the test together.

Mr Venator was in Auckland last week to spell out the benefits of A+ to local training firms and computer companies.

He said A+ was developed to address the massive skills gap in the industry, estimated at between 200,000 and 400,000 people in the United States alone, which is inhibiting industry growth.

Having an A+ certificate "says those people have the entry-level skills: they're better, faster, smarter, more productive, more profitable immediately when they come on job, and they don't need so much on-the-job training," he said.

In the first four years it has been available, 100,000 people have been certified A+. That is expected to double this year.

Mr Venator said as the industry has become increasingly global "members have challenged CompTIA to become global also."

In order to create the rapid growth needed, CompTIA, a not-for-profit trade association representing 7500 member companies, develops the standards, publishes the learning objectives and examinations, and leaves private providers to do the rest.

"Everyone else clusters around us," Mr Venator said.

"This is an industry where, when you train people, they have seven or eight job offers immediately at very good pay.

"We're delivering the message to training companies: `if you're not training for A+ now you should be, because your graduates will have instant jobs'."
Robin Adda, the managing director of London-based Global Training Solutions, which brought Mr Venator here, said his firm adopted A+ four years ago because it addressed a basic problem.

"Vendors were creating structured training programmes and selling software which was creating a bigger and bigger skills gap," Mr Adda said.

"The Microsoft, Novell, and Lotus training programmes all start on the first floor, but there's no lift to get you to the first floor. This is why A+ is absolutely invaluable."

While A+ is designed for people who have up to six months working experience in PC support, Global Training Solutions has tied it in with a PC fundamentals course so people with no experience of computers at all can be brought up to entry-level standard.

Mr Venator said: "Increasingly, vendors like Compaq, IBM and Hewlett-Packard are packaging A+ with product-specific training, or requiring it as a prerequisite.

"It's also required as a prerequisite for all the major manufacturers and distributors if you want to work on their help desks."

Most major Auckland IT training firms are offering A+ certification or are considering doing so.

Mr Venator said next month CompTIA will roll out its Network+ package, designed for people with 18 to 24-month's experience who want to extend their skills.

The industry has also asked it to develop certification for Internet, intranet and extranet management, to cope with the rocketing demand for electronic commerce.