Professional Certifications – Additional Work or a Ladder to Success for Federal Employees
In many professions, certifications remain a crucial component of professional growth. They are a critical component of the talent development chain and work best in fields with high risk, exposure, and stakes fields. It also holds many government positions.
Getting certified is a viable strategy for federal employees to help them reach their objectives, whether they’re trying to develop in their current field or obtain employment with another government agency.
By providing a uniform standard for the core knowledge and skills anticipated, certifications assist in professionalizing individuals and your entire team and potential hires.
The fundamental requirements for what all professionals must understand and be able to do successfully to support the execution of your goal, function, and operations at a specified skill level can be outlined by certifications.
Federal employees can establish their competencies, expertise, and standards for openings and work related to the federal government by earning certificates. Many certifications offer universal legitimacy, ensuring that various agencies, organizations, and institutions recognize them.
In short, professional certifications from the proper training and development resource give managers and leaders the reassurance they need to trust their staff to perform their work.
What Are Professional Training Certifications, and Why Should Federal Employees Look To Earn Them?
A certification is a credential that federal employees can obtain by proving their abilities and expertise in a particular field. Independent organizations award candidates who exhibit competency in field certificates.
These organizations frequently provide classes, tools, and support to aid students in honing their professional skills. There may be additional prerequisites besides passing the exam generally required for certification.
For instance, some certificates call for candidates to finish a predetermined number of hours of supervised training or spend a significant amount of time in a related field of employment.
While some federal employees obtain professional training certifications because the government or their specific department demands it before they may hold certain job titles, others decide to do so to further their professional development.
By obtaining certificates, federal employees can progress in their careers and set themselves apart from others with comparable job responsibilities. Other ways they can benefit from obtaining certifications include:
- Increasing productivity
- Fostering mutual trust with customers and colleagues
- Finding new interests
- Boosting confidence and professional image
- Ensuring that their knowledge and abilities are up to date
- Increasing their employment options and earning potential
Benefits of Professional Certifications for Federal Employees
Earning a certification has many benefits that federal employees can take advantage of. These include the following.
Work Opportunities
Depending on their profession or the career they intend to pursue, specific government departments may need federal employees to hold multiple certifications or a single certification related to the role. Therefore, federal employees’ work opportunities increase when they obtain certificates.
Competitive Edge
Even while online certifications are free and quickly earned, only some have them to attest to their skill and knowledge. Federal employees can stand out from the competition by earning one or more of these accreditations.
Enhancing Resume
Your resume is crucial for showcasing your prior employment, professional experience, academic successes, and additional qualifications. One way to increase a federal employee’s reputation and chances of landing more interviews and career opportunities is to add certifications to their résumé.
New Skills
Federal employees can gain new information and skills related to their job field, irrespective of their certification. In addition to enhancing their practical skills, these certificates typically give federal employees the most recent information required for professional progress.
Updated Skills
Certification for federal employees allows one to advance one’s skill set and domain expertise. They can learn new techniques, abilities, and technologies relevant to their industry while participating in the training program, which will help them streamline and improve their current workflow.
Higher Salary
By earning a certification, federal employees can demonstrate to their employers that they have improved job-related skill sets. Suppose they want to move into a different role. In that case, they could use their new credentials and experience to negotiate a higher salary or establish a minimum wage expectation.
Demonstrating Capabilities
Regardless of their position or responsibilities, federal employee can demonstrate their expertise to others by displaying their certification. A certification shows that federal employees are informed and skilled in carrying out tasks.
Expanded Professional Network
Federal employees may meet a variety of specialists, experts, and practitioners in their industry when participating in a certification program. They can establish trusting relationships and expand their network of skilled professionals.
Increased Confidence
A federal employee’s confidence can increase, which increases their job quality and value when they successfully finish a certification. It can motivate them to keep improving their performance and skills to grow in their roles.
Promotion
A certification could aid a federal employee in advancing in their current government organization if they are looking for a promotion. Obtaining a certification can help a federal employee meet the requirements for some higher-level or senior-level positions, which have more stringent requirements.
Benefits of Offering Professional Training Certifications for Managers and Government Organizations
Offering professional certifications to employees generally entails the organization paying for it, but it is a cost you must incur. Consider them as deliberate, small-scale investments. Your organization gains value each time an employee pursues a new certification.
Here are four benefits for your organization that can result from supporting employees in obtaining a professional certification.
A Happier Workforce That Lowers Attrition
Organizations that disregard their employees’ aspirations for professional advancement and aspirational career ambitions are likely to have a disgruntled and untrustworthy workforce. People who are motivated and open to being challenged in their studies and careers will be created by organizations that capitalize on the human need for achievement.
The phrase used to describe persons motivated by success or accomplishment is called achievement motivation. It serves as more than just a learning and development statistic by assisting organizations in identifying and retaining top performers.
People like their jobs more when they work for organizations that care about their professional growth and are dedicated to assisting them in advancing their careers.
Additionally, employees will feel appreciated and valued by the organization and their managers. This feeling of value can go a long way toward encouraging employees to want to stay, which lowers worker turnover, one of the biggest challenges and costs for organizations today.
Professional certifications also enable you to identify highly talented and motivated individuals for your government organization and build a talent pipeline. It indicates that your organization has greater internal mobility and can reliably fill positions because current employees already have the necessary abilities.
Increased Trust in the Workforce
During their training, certified employees learn the value of upholding specific professional standards. You can depend on your team’s capacity to meet standards and expect higher and more reliable work with greater ease and confidence.
Boosted Productivity
According to studies conducted by several firms in different industries, workers with a professional certification are more productive. It is because certificates better equip workers to handle everyday obstacles and make the most of emerging technologies. For instance, those who have received certification in a software program can use the program’s sophisticated features more effectively.
The efficiency of team projects can be increased by certified staff, who usually work more effectively than non-certified coworkers.
Achieving Organizational Goals Faster
The difference between organizations embracing digitization and those not is growing. Those at the cutting edge of efficiency are several times more efficient than those who are not. Combining the appropriate tools, such as educational technologies, with your human resources is the key here.
Top-performing organizations understand the need to foster the appropriate skills in employees. In the best-performing organizations, 84 percent of the workforce reports receiving the necessary training, as per IBM.
The same study indicated that when staff completed 40 hours of appropriate training, every project they embarked on was three times more likely to meet the set goals, so you don’t even need to invest a lot of time in acquiring skills and experience.
It could imply that personnel is better prepared to meet your company’s objectives with just two hours per week of pertinent study over five months.
Employee upskilling in the most recent industry-, role-, or product-relevant competencies is the main focus of professional training certifications. Although many people look for information on certifications on their own, it’s worthwhile to include them in your current employee training programs.
It is because a significant contributor to an organization’s reputation, prospective earnings, and market position is ongoing education. And all of this translates for employees into better career options, self-assurance, higher earning potential, and acknowledgment of their skills. So it’s a win-win for both your government organizations and federal employees.
