Technology

CompTIA Explores New Certification Offerings to Back Evolving Tech Field

The technology trade group, working from the wish lists of employers and industry pros, is hoping to bring certifications to areas such as data visualization and the programming language Python.

CompTIA’s certification game is already pretty strong—but there’s always room for more.

Recently, the technology association, which specializes in some of the most widely used tech-industry certification programs, announced it was exploring a number of new avenues for certification, including data visualization, security in the programming language Python, and a secondary technical skills certification that expands on an existing offering that has proven popular.

CompTIA hasn’t made any firm calls yet, but is instead doing market analysis to decide next steps—potentially to help close skills gaps that have emerged in the industry, or to improve existing skill sets, according to the group’s president and CEO, Todd Thibodeaux.

“We engage in regular, structured dialogue with employers, industry partners and subject matter experts as part of our rigorous exam development process,” Thibodeaux said in a news release. “Through this process we’ve identified several areas within the tech ecosystem where job roles have become well defined and a vendor-neutral certification is needed.”

On top of the additional certifications announced, CompTIA is looking into expert certifications for topics such as Linux.

CompTIA recently launched an updated Linux+ certification that focuses on increasingly necessary on-the-job skills such as system configuration, command-line scripting, and version control using industry standard tools such as Git. The updated certification is focused on system administrators, software developers, and support specialists. The update got a warm response from the market, according to the association.

The latest efforts reflect the recent work that the group has put into expanding its popular certifications, including creating a “stacked” program for those who have received multiple CompTIA certifications and acquiring/relaunching the Association of Information Technology Professionals, an organization similarly focused on professional development.

(matejmo/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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