Enterprise infrastructure and integration software company Sybase SA has become a CompTIA authorised member. Sybase will initially offer the CompTIA certified project management course, IT Project+ Management.
This accreditation enhances the certified offerings that Sybase can deliver to its clients and enables the company to present certified training connected with international certification exams.
CompTIA (the Computing Technology Industry Association) is an internationally renowned certification institution dedicated to advancing the growth of the IT industry and those working in it.
"Traditionally, Sybase only offered training courses on the company's products, but it has decided to expand into more soft skill-related courses such as project management and business analysis," says Sybase training manager Arn'el Taute.
"Soft skill courses focus on methodologies rather than on technical competencies. The IT Project+ Management course allows us to provide a value-add to our customers."
Sybase is one of two CompTIA certified education partners in Gauteng that can present the IT Project+ Management course.
The company believes there is a need for IT-specific project management courses among its clients and in the marketplace, Taute says.
"Towards the end of 2003 we conducted market research on the specific training needs of our customers and the biggest needs in the market," she says. "The results of the research led us to achieve CompTIA certification in order to present the project management course."
The course offered by Sybase is product-neutral and case study specific, relating directly to the trainees' own environments, Taute says.
In order to achieve the IT Project+ Management certificate, a trainee is required to attend a five-day course and complete the certification exam.
"CompTIA's reputation is such that when a person receives CompTIA certification, the industry can be assured that they are fully competent in that field," Taute says. "With the project management course, companies can be assured that once the trainee is certified they can go into any environment and implement and manage an entire project."
To become a CompTIA education partner, Sybase needed to provide an environment appropriate for training and an infrastructure to support it, says Loraine Vorster, regional director of CompTIA South Africa.
Sybase must use a CompTIA-certified instructor to present the CompTIA courses and the company's status as an education partner is reviewed annually.
"The relationship between Sybase and CompTIA must add value to both companies," Vorster says. "CompTIA is careful to partner with companies that are well established and respected in the industry."
Vorster says there is an element of the unethical in some offerings in the IT training industry and, in order to differentiate the valuable, legitimate trainers from the crowd, CompTIA allows education partners and members to use the CompTIA trademark.
Quality standards are applied to training providers who must be certified in the technical certifications they present and they must have CompTIA's generic trainer certification to demonstrate their teaching skills, she says.
"Sybase has satisfied CompTIA that the quality and standard of delivery is on a level we would expect," Vorster says. "CompTIA can now refer students and companies looking for IT project management courses to Sybase."
Sybase's education division delivers instructor-led training at its learning centres and at client locations.
Professional certification from Sybase offers trainees the technical skills and experience to design and implement real-world solutions, Taute says.
"Hands-on experience is very important before taking Sybase certification exams," she says. "Learning to apply what has been learned in the classroom to solve real-life problems enhances a trainee's ability to use different products and retain the methodologies, concepts and technical skills they have learned."
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