Lack of measurable skills among Internet and e-commerce professionals ranks among the major problems facing IT managers today. This is particularly so given the intense importance and exponential growth of e-business.
"Many companies must delay critical product and service rollouts because of an inability to qualify people with Web design, programming and administration skills," says Mike Pitsillis, MD of ADvTECH Skills, the e-learning specialist in the JSE-listed ADvTECH group. "Being able to certify Web skills quickly and impartially is a vital requirement for managers today."
To address this requirement, international software companies NETg and ProsoftTraining.com, both represented locally by ADvTECH Skills, are jointly developing an interactive curriculum for Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW) certification.
"The CIW program allows IT managers worldwide to evaluate potential resources quickly and impartially, and to demonstrate to their clients that their staff have a broad-based technical background," adds Pitsillis. "CIW certification shows a person`s expertise in Internet and intranet technologies. Like a professional licence, the CIW designation offers structured evidence of Internet competency."
Recognised as the industry`s leading certification program for Internet professionals, CIW defines the critical job roles and associated skills required to deploy e-business solutions. The industry-validated job role designations provide a roadmap that helps individuals and companies to prepare Internet professionals to develop and deploy e-business technologies.
This cooperative development agreement is aimed at the Master CIW Administrator, Master CIW Enterprise Developer and Master CIW Designer certification tracks. The curriculum will also cover the CIW Professional and CIW Associate certifications, which lead to Master CIW certification and which correlate to job roles as defined by the Association of Internet Professionals (AIP) and the International Webmasters Association (IWA).
Initial course development are focused on supporting the Master CIW Designer track and a Security Professional series required for Master CIW Administrator certification.
The three CIW Certification Tracks are defined as follows:
Master CIW Administrator comprises four interactive programs - Server Administrator, Internetworking Professional, and Security Professional, each representing an Internet job role with its own exam.
Master CIW Enterprise Developer is the most comprehensive program, made up of three Internet job roles - Application Developer, Database Specialist and Enterprise Developer, and four additional language exams - JavaScript, Java Programming and Object-Oriented Analysis.
The Master CIW Designer comprises two interactive programs, each representing an Internet job role with its own exam: Site Designer and e-Commerce Designer.
In addition to meeting critical information needs, NETg`s Learning Object course architecture is flexible, making learning accessible across the business. Organisations can use NETg`s broad deployment options, including CD-ROM, LAN, hosted or non-hosted Internet and intranet, to deliver training to a worldwide employee base.
The NETg Learning Object (NLO) format also enables the creation of a Precision Learning track for each individual learner, presenting only the material required for that learner. The Precision Learning feature minimises time in training while maximising resulting skills.
"Surveys show that more than half of certification candidates are preparing for exams using self-study products," says Pitsillis. "The availability of this interactive curriculum will address this customer need. The CIW program can now reach thousands, even millions of new potential clients."
ADvTECH Skills will introduce the first 15 courses that support the Master CIW Designer and Administrator Tracks in early 2001, with more courses to be announced shortly.
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