INDUSTRY RECOGNIZED CERTIFICATIONS:
THIRD-PARTY ACCREDITATION
GSX is a technical services firm that develops industry
recognized certification programs and supports
accreditation and implementation of these programs for
multiple applications. The intent of this guide is to provide
basic information and, hopefully, prompt additional
exploration by educators and career advisors.
© 2016 GSX All Rights Reserved
Industry Recognized Certifications (IRCs)
Industry Recognized Certifications (IRCs) have become an important
consideration within secondary and the postsecondary education. These
industry derived credentials are being used for multiple purposes including
providing students a recognized signal of competency, providing instructors a
framework for developing industry relevant curriculum, and a basis for
providing program accountability. This guide will present foundational
information about IRCs and their value in supplementing the educational
experience. Quality assurance is essential—and third party accreditation of
IRCs provides an important level of confidence for educators. Selected nonaccredited industry recognized certificates, curriculum, and certifications are
also known to provide value and should be evaluated for use in secondary and
postsecondary education.
IRCs are industry and occupationally based credentials that assess,
demonstrate and affirm mastery of specific knowledge and skills. They
use industry determined competency based assessments or tests to
measure, validate and benchmark an individual’s attainment of
knowledge and skills that are required either for a particular job, within a
career cluster or across an entire industry sector.
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Certifications, Educators, and Students
Industry Recognized Certifications (IRCs) give high school and postsecondary
students an important boost when they leave school to begin their careers or
attend college.
♦ Students who have earned an IRC have a verified assessment of their skills
attainment to show an employer
♦ Attainment often provides a clear advantage in the competition for entrylevel, first job employment
♦ Potential for higher salary and faster promotion
♦ Nationally-recognized IRCs are portable and recognized by employers
from coast to coast
♦ IRCs are a demonstrated asset for those who are going on to college, into
an apprenticeship program or on to other postsecondary pathways.
For high school academic teachers, career technical instructors, career
advisors, counselors and other educators, IRCs are a key value-added
benefit that encourages students in their studies while strengthening their
preparation for college and career readiness after graduation.
IRCs are driven by the specific knowledge and skills proficiency
requirements of U.S. and international industries. The highest standard of
certification provides impartial, third-party verification and valid
benchmarking of an individual’s attainment in a specific area of
knowledge and skills. Assessments are competency based and should
be valid, reliable, objective, unbiased and criterion-referenced.
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Guiding Students in Certification Selection
A challenge for high school
educators and administrators, career
advisors, and counselors is how to
effectively and efficiently guide
individual students in their selection
of an IRC that is “right” for each
student – that is an appropriate fit to
their individual learning needs and
high school and post-graduation
learning plans.
the merits or quality of any particular
certification. The sheer number of
certifications on this site, listing all
levels of assessed proficiency is also
a challenge for a user with limited
time for exploration.
This Guide is intended to help
educators and career advisors
provide a clearer answer to this
certification guidance question for
students, parents, administration,
and other educators.
One useful tool for beginning this
research process is the “Certification
Finder” on the CareerOneStop
website:
Included in this Guide is a list of some
selected “entry-level” certifications
that are already being offered for
secondary students by some school
districts and that are accredited as
having met the highest standards for
development, administration and
maintenance by an independent,
third-party accreditation
organization.
https://www.careeronestop.org/
toolkit/training/findcertifications.aspx
Certification Finder organizes
information by broad industry and
occupational categories; it
comprehensively lists over 4,000
individual certifications. This tool can
be helpful, but it does not evaluate
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Levels of Industry Recognized Certification
For a clearer understanding as well as operational purposes, there are four
classification levels to which any certification might be assigned:
♦ Entry-Level – Certifications that require no prior industry knowledge, work
experience, or prior credential before an individual begins preparation
and/or applies for the assessment.
♦ Entry-Level Plus – Certifications that require some prior industry knowledge,
work based experience, or prior credential before a student begins
preparation and/or applies for the assessment.
♦ Mid-Level – Certifications that are considered “next-step” beyond the
entry-level, and might be attainable by some more advanced students
and also represent the types of “career ladder” opportunities that will be
available to program graduates once they become workforce
participants.
♦ Advanced-Level – Certifications that are clearly beyond the reasonable
expectations for most students or graduates to attain during or several
years after graduation. Such reasons might include higher level
postsecondary educational prerequisites, lengthy work experience
requirements, and/or prior achievement of one or more entry-level and
mid-level certifications.
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Levels of Industry Recognized
Certification (cont.)
High school students are most likely to be prepared to successfully pass the
assessment exam and earn the credential for an Entry-Level or Entry-Level Plus
certification prior to, or shortly after, graduation.
Of the over 4,000 IRCs representing
all four classification levels listed
today in the Certification Finder, prior
research has identified only 400-500
as potentially attainable by high
school students by graduation or
shortly thereafter. Of this 4,000 total
number, only about 600 IRCs at all
levels are third party accredited,
and of this accredited total, fewer
than 100 are considered entry-level
or entry-level plus certifications that
may be attainable by high school
students by graduation or shortly
thereafter.
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Why Third-Party Accreditation?
Third-party accreditation of an IRC means that it has met rigorous standards in
development, administration and maintenance that are independent of the
certification sponsor. Such an accreditation provides assurances that the
certification meets a higher, voluntary standard of quality.
For IRCs in the United States, there are three primary independent, third-party
accreditation organizations, all of which have some link to the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO), the global standard for quality widely
respected and used by industry. The ISO website is
http://www.iso.org/iso/home.html.
♦ American National Standards Institute (ANSI) – ANSI currently accredits
over 170 certifications for individuals representing 56 certifying
organizations, with industry concentrations in the construction and related
building trades, energy, industrial health and safety, healthcare,
information technology (IT), and advanced manufacturing. ANSI accredits
against the ISO standard 17024 (General Requirements for Bodies
Operating Certifications for Persons). The ANSI website is
https://www.ansi.org/default.aspx.
♦ National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) – NCCA presently
accredits 330 certifications for individuals representing over 130
organizations. NCCA accredited certifications are in a wide-range of
industries, including automotive, construction, medical healthcare and
allied health, manufacturing and logistics, and more. The NCCA
accredited certifications tend to be most highly concentrated in the
healthcare medical and related healthcare careers because of their
history, and often are targeted to those with an Associate’s or Bachelor’s
degree or higher. NCCA is planning a combined accreditation process
based on its standards and ISO standard 17024. The NCCA website is
http://www.credentialingexcellence.org/ncca.
♦ International Certification Accreditation Council (ICAC) – ICAC accredits
108 certifications for individuals on behalf of seven organizations, with the
largest number in the electronics industry sector. Drawing upon ISO
standard 17024, ICAC also accredits numerous NOCTI owned industry
recognized credentials and partner industry certifications for career
technical education. The ICAC website is
http://www.icacnet.org/wordpress/.
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Examples of Accredited Industry Recognized
Certifications Applicable to High School
Students: Entry-Level
Of the more than 600 industry recognized certifications accredited by ANSI,
ICAC or NCCA, fewer than 30 are considered by several researchers to be
potentially attainable by high school students by graduation or shortly
thereafter. The list that follows highlights 23 industry recognized certifications sponsored by nine different organizations – that are accredited and for which
training is being offered by some school districts for secondary students across
the industry.
American Culinary Association (ACA) (http://www.acfchefs.org/ACF)
♦ Certified Culinarian (CC) – The CC requires a high school diploma or GED and twoyears of experience as an entry-level culinarian. Thirty hours of coursework in nutrition,
food safety & sanitation and supervisory management also required.
American Medical Technologists (AMT) (http://www.americanmedtech.org/ )
♦ National Phlebotomy Technician (NPT) Certification – The NPT Certification applicant is
required to have graduated (or be scheduled to graduate) from academic courses in
phlebotomy with a minimum of 120 didactic clock hours (or as required by state law),
have completed a minimum of 50 successful venipunctures and 10 successful skin
punctures, and take and pass the AMT’s NPT Certification examination.
Cisco Systems http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/training-events/trainingcertifications/overview.html
♦ CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) Routing and Switching – The CCNA assesses
knowledge and basic skills required for applications of routing and switching
technologies.
♦ CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional) Routing and Switching – CCNP validates
the ability to plan, implement, verify and troubleshoot local and wide-area enterprise
networks plus work collaboratively with specialists on advanced security, voice, wireless
and video solutions. Appropriate for those with at least one year of networking
experience who are ready to advance their skills and work independently on complex
network solutions.
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Industry Recognized Certifications (cont.)
Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA)
https://certification.comptia.org/certifications
♦ CompTIA A+ – The A+ certification assesses IT foundational skills across a variety of
devices and operating systems. With over 1 million holders worldwide, A+ is viewed by
many as starting point for a career in IT, including in technical support, field service and
IT support technician.
♦ CompTIA Network+ – Network+ certifies the essential skills needed to design, configure,
manage and troubleshoot wired and wireless devices; it validates knowledge of
different kinds of network hardware.
Electronics Technicians Association, International (ETA-I) www.eta-i.org/
♦ Student Electronics Technician (SET) – The SET allows high school students and entrylevel technicians the opportunity to earn a basic beginner’s certification; topics
include electrical theory, electronic components, diagrams, cabling, power supplies,
testing, safety and much more.
♦ Associate Certified Electronics Technician (CETa) – CETa certification is designed for
technicians who have less than two years of experience or trade school training; it
requires more in-depth knowledge of all topics covered under the Student Electronics
Technician (SET) exam.
♦ Electronics Modules (EM1-5) Standalone Program – EM1-5 program is based on the
CETa certification; competencies are divided into 5 modules, the purpose of which is
to meet the needs of a growing portion of the electronics education community
industry that is providing training to industry specifications for workers with some, but
not all, entry-level electronics skills. These 5 EM Standalone certification modules are:
o
o
o
o
o
Electronics Module (EM1): Direct Current (DC)
Electronics Module (EM2): Alternating Current (AC)
Electronics Module (EM3): Analog
Electronics Module (EM4): Digital
Electronics Module (EM5): Comprehensive
♦ Data Cabling Installer (DCI) – The DCI certification requires knowledge of the basic
concepts of copper cabling installation and service, basic electricity and safety,
cable types and characteristics, connectors and outlets, required tools, testing,
troubleshooting and more.
♦ Fiber Optics Installer (FOI) – FOI certification requires an understanding of optical fiber
installation, connection, splicing, testing, demonstrated proficiency in installing
connectors on different types of fiber optic cables, testing, troubleshooting and more.
♦ Customer Service Specialist (CSS) – The CSS validates knowledge and understanding
of employability (i.e. “soft”) skills that all employers say they want in their workers.
Topics include professionalism, communication, teamwork, problem solving, safety,
social media and more.
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Industry Recognized Certifications (cont.)
Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) http://www.msscusa.org/certification/
♦ MSSC - Certified Logistics Technician (CLT) – The CLT assesses mastery of the core
competencies of material handling at the front-line (entry-level through front-line
supervisor) through successful completion of the certification assessments. The
CLT program consists of two parts: The foundational-level Certified Logistics Associate
(CLA) Certificate and the mid-level technical CLT Certification. Before sitting for the
CLT assessment, candidates must have a CLA Certificate.
♦ MSSC - Certified Production Technician (CPT) – The CPT demonstrates mastery of core
competencies in manufacturing production at the front-line (entry-level through frontline supervisor) through successful completion of 5 individual certificate modules: Safety;
Quality Practices & Measurement; Manufacturing Processes & Production;
Maintenance Awareness and Green Production. Candidates must earn the first four
certificates to receive the full CPT certification.
National Healthcareer Association (NHA) (http://nhanow.com/certifications/)
♦ Certified Coding and Billing Specialist (CBSC) – The CBSC gathers and reviews essential
patient information, verifies patient information before release, supports coding and
billing processes, assigns codes for diagnoses & procedures, submits reimbursement
claims, and more.
♦ Pharmacy Technician Certification (CPhT) – The CPhT receives prescription requests
from physicians’ offices and patients; accurately measure medication amounts;
package and label prescriptions; establish and maintain patient records; accept
payments and process insurance claims, maintain pharmacy inventories.
♦ Phlebotomy Technician Certification (CPT) – The CPT verifies patient and donor
identities and prepares them for procedures, draws blood from patients and blood
donors and prepares blood, urine and other specimens for testing. Training involves
both book and clinical preparation.
National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) (https://www.nremt.org/}
♦ Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Certification – An EMT certification candidate
must be at least 18 years old and have successfully completed a state-approved EMT
course that meets or exceeds the National Emergency Medical Services Education
Standards for an EMT. Course completion must be within the two years prior to taking
the EMT certification exam. Also requires successful completion of a state-approved
EMT psychomotor exam.
Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) (http://www.ptcb.org/)
♦ Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) – The CPhT requires a high school diploma or
equivalent educational diploma (e.g., a GED or foreign diploma), passing score on the
Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE), full disclosure of all criminal and State
Board of Pharmacy registration or licensure actions, and compliance with all applicable
PTCB certification policies.
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Other Important Factors about Accredited
Industry Recognized Certifications
Stackable Credentials
High school educators, career
advisors and counselors potentially
have great flexibility to work
together within a school or school
system to synchronize different types
of credentials that can align with
and help define a Program of Study.
Stacking Credentials and
certifications in this manner can offer
multiple benefits for students.
This option can be especially
valuable to students during their high
school years and beyond, whether
pursuing college or other
postsecondary education (including
apprenticeship), full-time
employment, or military service. A
pathway of degrees, certifications,
and certificate programs can lead
to multiple student centered options.
Legal and Professional Criteria
A well-developed Industry recognized certification program will meet the
following criteria. Accredited IRCs will provide direct confirmation that these
criteria are met.
♦ Assessments are consistent with federal civil rights laws and all federal
regulations including the Uniform Guidelines.
♦ Assessments are developed in a manner designed to be consistent with
relevant professional and technical standards and government guidelines
to ensure reliability and validity.
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This Guide provides a start, but only a start, to help high
school academic teachers, career technical instructors,
counselors, career advisors and other educators navigate
the world of industry recognized certifications on behalf of
your students. We hope you find this to be a useful tool
that serves to provide value-added benefits and
encourages students in their studies and strengthens their
preparation for college and career readiness after
graduation.
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