Certification: My Personal Survey -Reply

[Blake Ricks <bricks -at- PMI-SFM -dot- PMIGROUP -dot- COM>]

Bill,

Did your summary points of the arguments for and against
certification reflect a personal bias? It seemed that you took
the arguments AGAINST certification and summarized them
as point blank rants. The arguments that I read from the
others were stated far more eloquently. Arguments FOR
certification were nicely developed.

ALSO, you failed to mention that the posts AGAINST
certification far out numbered those FOR (am I wrong here?).
You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but as a summary of
the posts I saw, I'm not sure we saw the same things.

Maybe you can clarify.

Blake Ricks
bricks -at- pmigroup -dot- com

>>> Bill DuBay <bill_dubay -at- PHOENIX -dot- COM> 06/13/97
11:14am >>>
Thank you very much, everybody, for your contributions on
the certification issues. They are all very helpful for the
articles I am writing on the subject. I am also reading through
the hundreds of comments on the archives.

Briefly, this is what I have learned so far:

Those opposed to certification use the following arguments:

   1. Technical writers have no certifiable skills.
   2. There is no way to identify those skills.
   3. There is no way to test those skills.
   5.  No certification process would be meaningful.
   6. The STC is not capable of conducting a meaningful
certification program.
   7. No organization is capable of  conducting a meaningful
certification program.
   8. Any employer should be able to evaluate a writer's skills
from the resume, the portfolio, and an interview.
   9. The free market will sort out the good and bad technical
communicators.


Those in favor of certification use the following arguments:

  1. Certification is what defines a profession, not only who
has the skills but what the skills are and what contribution
they make to industry and society.
  2. Certification not only encourages preparation before
entering a field but also a continual development of
professional skills.
  3. Certification provides job applicants an external point of
validation based on the satisfaction of requirements
established by one's professional peers, not the by
academe, former employers, nor the claim of experience.
  2. TC certification may not be helpful to many established
communicators, but it is required by the profession, by
industry, and by society. For this reason, certification serves
to qualify not only professions and trades, but also
companies and products. Out of the thousands of trade and
professional organizations in our society, very few lack some
sort of certification process. (Do a search for "certification"
on the net and you will get tens of thousands of opportunities
to investigate different modalities of certification programs
that may be applicable to TC.)
  3. Certification demands the identification of core skills,
(i.e., rhetoric,
 composition, organization, informational design, document
management, development procedures, network skills, etc.),
specialty skills (i.e., manuals, procedures, online help, etc.),
and tool skills (i.e., Frame,
Robohelp, etc.)
  4. The meaningfulness of certification is directly proportional
to the level of skills required and the rigor of the certification
process. The
American Institute of Appraisers, for example, conducts
classes, administers exams, and requires a 5-year
apprenticeship during which time a series of reviews are
made of the applicant's work. That program is the central
driver of the appraisal industry.
  5. The STC currently contributes to industry by focusing on
the development of skills. Industry, however, has no way of
identifying who has those skills or what skills are required.
Many employers, especially those starting a tech pubs effort,
are ignorant of standards  have no certified profession on
which they can rely for experience. Certification directly
addresses that problem.
  6. Some suggest that the STC is not the organization to
conduct the certification process. Perhaps it could cooperate
in setting up another organization for the purpose of
certifcation.
  7. The international character of TC requires consideration.
Other countries such as Canada are lacking TC programs in
colleges and are more interested in an STC certification
program.
  8. Among othher issues to be addressed are the cost to the
society and to the individual. Most trade certification
programs cost $400-$1000 each.

Be sure to read my articles!

For background on the certification issue, be sure to read,




Bill DuBay
Technical Writer
Phoenix Technologies Ltd. email: bill_dubay -at- phoenix -dot- com
(714)790-2049 FAX: (714)790-2001 http://www.phoenix.com

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