Professional certification , trade certification , or professional designation , often called simply certification or qualification , is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task. Not all certifications that use post-nominal letters are an acknowledgement of educational achievement, or an agency appointed to safeguard the public interest.
67-581: A Chartered Environmentalist ( CEnv ) is a professional qualification in the United Kingdom that is awarded by the Society for the Environment through its 24 licensed member organisations (listed below). Chartered Environmentalists do not come from a single sector. Over the years, over 7,000 professionals have registered as Chartered Environmentalists. Professional certification A certification
134-499: A Masters of Divinity , accreditation by the denomination and ordination by the local church in order for a minister to become a " Reverend ". Those qualifications may or may not also give government authorization to solemnize marriages . Board certification is the process by which a physician in the United States documents by written, practical or computer based testing, illustrating a mastery of knowledge and skills that define
201-407: A corporation or low-stakes organization for internal purposes. For example, a corporation might require a one-day training course for all sales personnel, after which they receive a certificate. While this certificate has limited portability – to other corporations, for example – it is the most simple to develop. Product-specific certifications are more involved, and are intended to be referenced to
268-509: A vulnerability . Software patches are often released to fix identified vulnerabilities, but those that remain unknown ( zero days ) as well as those that have not been patched are still liable for exploitation. Vulnerabilities vary in their ability to be exploited by malicious actors, and the actual risk is dependent on the nature of the vulnerability as well as the value of the surrounding system. Although some vulnerabilities can only be used for denial of service attacks that compromise
335-520: A web application —had become the primary method that companies deliver applications. Software companies aim to deliver a high-quality product on time and under budget. A challenge is that software development effort estimation is often inaccurate. Software development begins by conceiving the project, evaluating its feasibility, analyzing the business requirements, and making a software design . Most software projects speed up their development by reusing or incorporating existing software, either in
402-404: A certain job" and they provide potential employers with "an impartial, third-party endorsement of an individual's professional knowledge and experience". Certification is different from professional licensure. In the United States, licenses are typically issued by state agencies, whereas certifications are usually awarded by professional societies or educational institutes. Obtaining a certificate
469-466: A certificate program indicates completion of a course or series of courses with a specific concentration that is different from an educational degree program. Course content for an advanced certificate is set forth through a variety of sources i.e. faculty , committee , instructors , and other subject matter experts in a related field. The end goal of an advanced professional certificate is so that professionals may demonstrate knowledge of course content at
536-457: A change request. Frequently, software is released in an incomplete state when the development team runs out of time or funding. Despite testing and quality assurance , virtually all software contains bugs where the system does not work as intended. Post-release software maintenance is necessary to remediate these bugs when they are found and keep the software working as the environment changes over time. New features are often added after
603-486: A code's correct and efficient behavior, its reusability and portability , or the ease of modification. It is usually more cost-effective to build quality into the product from the beginning rather than try to add it later in the development process. Higher quality code will reduce lifetime cost to both suppliers and customers as it is more reliable and easier to maintain . Software failures in safety-critical systems can be very serious including death. By some estimates,
670-668: A comprehensive examination and have met other eligibility requirements.: Logistician is the profession in the logistics and transport sectors, including sea, air, land and rail modes. Professional qualification for logisticians usually carries post-nominal letters. Certification granting bodies include, but are not limited to, Institute for Supply Management (ISM), Association for Operations Management (APICS), Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), International Society of Logistics (SOLE), Canadian Institute of Traffic and Transportation (CITT), and Allied Council for Commerce and Logistics (ACCL). Management consulting
737-640: A high school education, the diploma is meant to be a post-graduate qualification and can in fact be incorporated into a master's degree program. An increasing number of attorneys are choosing to be recognized as having special expertise in certain fields of law. According to the American Bar Association , a lawyer who is a certified specialist has been recognized by an independent professional certifying organization as having an enhanced level of skill and expertise, as well as substantial involvement in an established legal specialty. These organizations require
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#1732851502535804-556: A lawyer to demonstrate special training, experience and knowledge to ensure that the lawyer's recognition is meaningful and reliable. Lawyer conduct with regard to specialty certification is regulated by the states. Legal administrators vary in their day-to-day responsibilities and job requirements. The Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) is the credentialing body of the Certified Legal Manager (CLM) certification program. CLMs are recognized as administrators who have passed
871-443: A legal regime where liability for software products is significantly curtailed compared to other products. Source code is protected by copyright law that vests the owner with the exclusive right to copy the code. The underlying ideas or algorithms are not protected by copyright law, but are often treated as a trade secret and concealed by such methods as non-disclosure agreements . Software copyright has been recognized since
938-453: A minimum number of flight hours. All categories are available for Fixed-Wing Aircraft ( airplanes ) and Rotatory-Wing Aircraft ( helicopters ). Within each category, aviators may also obtain certifications in: Usually, aviators must be certified also in their log books for the type and model of aircraft they are allowed to fly. Currency checks as well as regular medical check-ups with a frequency of 6 months, 12 months, or 36 months, depending on
1005-443: A particular area of medical specialization. The American Board of Medical Specialties , a not-for-profit organization, assists 24 approved medical specialty boards in the development and use of standards in the ongoing evaluation and certification of physicians. Medical specialty certification in the United States is a voluntary process. While medical licensure sets the minimum competency requirements to diagnose and treat patients, it
1072-498: A practice model for the verification of conformity to IEC Standards, for European smaller countries with no certification schemes for such equipment. It published a "Common Regulatory Framework" as a suggestion for those countries implementing a certification program for the explosive atmospheres' segment. In the United States, insurance professionals are licensed separately by each state. Many individuals seek one or more certifications to distinguish themselves from their peers. TESOL
1139-456: A product across all applications. This approach is very prevalent in the information technology (IT) industry, where personnel are certified on a version of software or hardware. This type of certification is portable across locations (for example, different corporations that use that software), but not across other products. Another example could be the certifications issued for shipping personnel, which are under international standards even for
1206-611: A regional warehouses (serviced by the central warehouse) and potentially retail warehouses (serviced by the regional warehouses). IECEx covers the specialized field of explosion protection associated with the use of equipment in areas where flammable gases, liquids and combustible dusts may be present. This system provides the assurance that equipment is manufactured to meet safety standards, and that services such as installation, repair and overhaul also comply with IEC International Standards on 60079 series. The UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe), cited IECEx as one example of
1273-495: A significant role in the distribution of software products. The first use of the word software is credited to mathematician John Wilder Tukey in 1958. The first programmable computers, which appeared at the end of the 1940s, were programmed in machine language . Machine language is difficult to debug and not portable across different computers. Initially, hardware resources were more expensive than human resources . As programs became complex, programmer productivity became
1340-509: A specific version of the software, downloaded, and run on hardware belonging to the purchaser. The rise of the Internet and cloud computing enabled a new model, software as a service (SaaS), in which the provider hosts the software (usually built on top of rented infrastructure or platforms ) and provides the use of the software to customers, often in exchange for a subscription fee . By 2023, SaaS products—which are usually delivered via
1407-501: A student has reached a standard of knowledge of a certain vocational subject. Certificate programs can be completed more quickly than associate degrees and often do not have general education requirements. An advanced professional certificate is a result of an educational process designed for individuals. Certificates are designed for both newcomers to the industry as well as seasoned professionals. Certificates are awarded by an educational program or academic institution . Completion of
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#17328515025351474-507: A subclass they refer to as advanced professional certificates. Advanced professional certificates are professional credentials designed to help professionals enhance their job performance and marketability in their respective fields. In many other countries, certificates are qualifications in higher education . In the United States , a certificate may be offered by an institute of higher education. These certificates usually signify that
1541-415: A system's availability, others allow the attacker to inject and run their own code (called malware ), without the user being aware of it. To thwart cyberattacks, all software in the system must be designed to withstand and recover from external attack. Despite efforts to ensure security, a significant fraction of computers are infected with malware. Programming languages are the format in which software
1608-449: Is a large field of employment with widely varying degrees of regulation. Most provision worldwide is through the state school system of each individual country, and as such, the instructors tend to be trained primary- or secondary school teachers who are native speakers of the language of their pupils, and not of English. Though native speakers of English have been working in non-English speaking countries in this capacity for years, it
1675-403: Is a part of the supply chain and primarily aims to control the movement and storage of materials within a warehouse and process the associated transactions, including shipping, receiving, putaway and picking. The systems also direct and optimize stock putaway based on real-time information about the status of bin utilization. A WMS monitors the progress of products through the warehouse. It involves
1742-569: Is a third-party attestation of an individual's level of knowledge or proficiency in a certain industry or profession. They are granted by authorities in the field, such as professional societies and universities, or by private certificate-granting agencies. Most certifications are time-limited; some expire after a period of time (e.g., the lifetime of a product that requires certification for use), while others can be renewed indefinitely as long as certain requirements are met. Renewal usually requires ongoing education to remain up-to-date on advancements in
1809-429: Is intended to be portable to all places a certified professional might work. Of course, this generalization increases the cost of such a program; the process to establish a legally defensible assessment of an entire profession is very extensive. An example of this is a certified public accountant (CPA), which would not be certified for just one corporation or one piece of accountancy software but for general work in
1876-496: Is not specialty specific. Board certification demonstrates a physician's exceptional expertise in a particular specialty or sub-specialty of medical practice. Patients, physicians, health care providers, insurers and quality organizations regard certification as an important measure of a physician's knowledge, experience and skills to provide quality health care within a given specialty. Other professional certifications include certifications such as medical licenses , Membership of
1943-569: Is often used in the professions of software engineering and information technology . Conferred by the International Dance Council CID at UNESCO, the International Certification of Dance Studies is awarded to students who have completed 150 hours of classes in a specific form of dance for Level 1. Another 150 hours are required for Level 2 and so on till Level 10. This is the only international certification for dance since the International Dance Council CID is
2010-633: Is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving any sort of organizational objectives. The profession's primary certification is the " Certified Management Consultant " (CMC) designation. Certification granting bodies are the approximately 50 Institutes of Management Consulting belonging to the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI). Churches have their own process of who may use various religious titles. Protestant churches typically require
2077-432: Is voluntary in some fields, but in others, certification from a government-accredited agency may be legally required to perform certain jobs or tasks. In other countries, licenses are typically granted by professional societies or universities and require a certificate after about three to five years and so on thereafter. The assessment process for certification may be more comprehensive than that of licensure, though sometimes
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2144-453: Is written. Since the 1950s, thousands of different programming languages have been invented; some have been in use for decades, while others have fallen into disuse. Some definitions classify machine code —the exact instructions directly implemented by the hardware—and assembly language —a more human-readable alternative to machine code whose statements can be translated one-to-one into machine code—as programming languages. Programs written in
2211-946: The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing , a joint publication of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME). Many members of the Association of Test Publishers (ATP) are also certification organizations. There are three general types of certification. Listed in order of development level and portability, they are: corporate (internal), product-specific, and profession-wide. Corporate, or "internal" certifications, are made by
2278-521: The CertTESOL and the LTCL DipTESOL . They offer initial certificates in teaching, in which candidates are trained in language awareness and classroom techniques, and given a chance to practice teaching, after which feedback is reported. Both institutions have as a follow-up a professional diploma, usually taken after a year or two in the field. Although the initial certificate is available to anyone with
2345-438: The high-level programming languages used to create software share a few main characteristics: knowledge of machine code is not necessary to write them, they can be ported to other computer systems, and they are more concise and human-readable than machine code. They must be both human-readable and capable of being translated into unambiguous instructions for computer hardware. The invention of high-level programming languages
2412-605: The machine language specific to the hardware. The introduction of high-level programming languages in 1958 allowed for more human-readable instructions, making software development easier and more portable across different computer architectures . Software in a programming language is run through a compiler or interpreter to execute on the architecture's hardware. Over time, software has become complex, owing to developments in networking , operating systems , and databases . Software can generally be categorized into two main types: The rise of cloud computing has introduced
2479-581: The Royal College of Physicians , Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada , nursing board certification , diplomas in social work . The Commission for Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy certifies pharmacists that are knowledgeable about principles of geriatric pharmacotherapy and the provision of pharmaceutical care to the elderly. Additional certifying bodies relating to
2546-582: The United States, several electronics certifications are provided by the Electronics Technicians Association . The Federal Emergency Management Agency 's EMI offers credentials and training opportunities for United States citizens. Students do not have to be employed by FEMA or be federal employees for some of the programs. Professional engineering is any act of planning, designing, composing, measuring, evaluating, inspecting, advising, reporting, directing or supervising, or managing any of
2613-432: The assessment process is very similar or even the same, despite differing in terms of legal status. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) defines the standard for being a certifying agency as meeting the following two requirements: The Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) is a U.S.-based organization that sets standards for the accreditation of personnel certification and certificate programs based on
2680-399: The bottleneck. The introduction of high-level programming languages in 1958 hid the details of the hardware and expressed the underlying algorithms into the code . Early languages include Fortran , Lisp , and COBOL . There are two main types of software: Software can also be categorized by how it is deployed . Traditional applications are purchased with a perpetual license for
2747-440: The concept of peer recovery through mental health and addiction recovery. It has the main purpose of training student-candidates on how to become peer recovery professionals who can provide guidance, knowledge or assistance for individuals who have had similar experiences. Each student-candidate must complete several key steps which include initial registration; the pre-certification review course; and all applicable sections of
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2814-404: The correctness of code, while user acceptance testing helps to ensure that the product meets customer expectations. There are a variety of software development methodologies , which vary from completing all steps in order to concurrent and iterative models. Software development is driven by requirements taken from prospective users, as opposed to maintenance, which is driven by events such as
2881-400: The cost of poor quality software can be as high as 20 to 40 percent of sales. Despite developers' goal of delivering a product that works entirely as intended, virtually all software contains bugs. The rise of the Internet also greatly increased the need for computer security as it enabled malicious actors to conduct cyberattacks remotely. If a bug creates a security risk, it is called
2948-419: The cost of products. Unlike copyrights, patents generally only apply in the jurisdiction where they were issued. Engineer Capers Jones writes that "computers and software are making profound changes to every aspect of human life: education, work, warfare, entertainment, medicine, law, and everything else". It has become ubiquitous in everyday life in developed countries . In many cases, software augments
3015-915: The end of a set period in time. There are many professional bodies for accountants and auditors throughout the world; some of them are legally recognized in their jurisdictions. Public accountants are the accountancy and control experts that are legally certified in different jurisdictions to work in public practices, certifying accounts as statutory auditors , eventually selling advice and services to other individuals and businesses. Today, however, many work within private corporations, financial industry, and government bodies. Cf. Accountancy qualifications and regulation Aviators are certified through theoretical and in-flight examinations. Requirements for certifications are quite equal in most countries and are regulated by each National Aviation Authority. The existing certificates or pilot licenses are: Licensing in these categories require not only examinations but also
3082-872: The field, evidenced by earning the specified number of continuing education credits (CECs), or continuing education units (CEUs), from approved professional development courses. Many certification programs are affiliated with professional associations, trade organizations, or private vendors interested in raising industry standards. Certification programs are often created or endorsed by professional associations, but are typically completely independent from membership organizations. Certifications are very common in fields such as aviation, construction, technology, environment, and other industrial sectors, as well as healthcare, business, real estate, and finance. According to The Guide to National Professional Certification Programs (1997) by Phillip Barnhart, "certifications are portable, since they do not depend on one company's definition of
3149-510: The foregoing, that requires the application of engineering principles and that concerns the safeguarding of life, health, property, economic interests, the public interest or the environment. Event planning includes budgeting, scheduling, site selection, acquiring necessary permits, coordinating transportation and parking, arranging for speakers or entertainers, arranging decor, event security, catering, coordinating with third-party vendors, and emergency plans. A warehouse management system (WMS)
3216-438: The form of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) or open-source software . Software quality assurance is typically a combination of manual code review by other engineers and automated software testing . Due to time constraints, testing cannot cover all aspects of the software's intended functionality, so developers often focus on the most critical functionality. Formal methods are used in some safety-critical systems to prove
3283-439: The functionality of existing technologies such as household appliances and elevators . Software also spawned entirely new technologies such as the Internet , video games , mobile phones , and GPS . New methods of communication, including email , forums , blogs , microblogging , wikis , and social media , were enabled by the Internet. Massive amounts of knowledge exceeding any paper-based library are now available with
3350-608: The medical field include: NCPRP stands for "National Certified Peer Recovery Professional", and the NCPRP credential and exam were developed in collaboration with the International Certification Board of Recovery Professionals (ICBRP) and is currently being administered by PARfessionals . PARfessionals is a professional organization and all of the available courses are professional development and pre-certification courses. The NCPRP credential and exam focus primarily on
3417-597: The mid-1970s and is vested in the company that makes the software, not the employees or contractors who wrote it. The use of most software is governed by an agreement ( software license ) between the copyright holder and the user. Proprietary software is usually sold under a restrictive license that limits copying and reuse (often enforced with tools such as digital rights management (DRM)). Open-source licenses , in contrast, allow free use and redistribution of software with few conditions. Most open-source licenses used for software require that modifications be released under
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#17328515025353484-627: The new software delivery model Software as a Service (SaaS). In SaaS, applications are hosted by a provider and accessed over the Internet . The process of developing software involves several stages. The stages include software design , programming , testing , release , and maintenance . Software quality assurance and security are critical aspects of software development, as bugs and security vulnerabilities can lead to system failures and security breaches. Additionally, legal issues such as software licenses and intellectual property rights play
3551-432: The official application in order to become eligible to complete the final step, which is the NCPRP certification exam. Software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the execution of a computer . Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital computers in the mid-20th century. Early programs were written in
3618-506: The official body for all forms of dance; it is usually given in addition to local or national certificates, that is why it is colloquially called "the dancer's passport". Students cannot apply for this certification directly – they have to ask their school to apply on their behalf. This certification is awarded free of charge, there is no cost other than membership fees. International Dance Council CID at UNESCO administers the International Certification of Dance Studies. In
3685-472: The operating system) can take this saved file and execute it as a process on the computer hardware. Some programming languages use an interpreter instead of a compiler. An interpreter converts the program into machine code at run time , which makes them 10 to 100 times slower than compiled programming languages. Software is often released with the knowledge that it is incomplete or contains bugs. Purchasers knowingly buy it in this state, which has led to
3752-404: The physical warehouse infrastructure, tracking systems , and communication between product stations. More precisely, warehouse management involves the receipt, storage and movement of goods, (normally finished goods), to intermediate storage locations or to a final customer. In the multi-echelon model for distribution, there may be multiple levels of warehouses. This includes a central warehouse,
3819-548: The physical world may also be part of the requirements for a software patent to be held valid. Software patents have been historically controversial . Before the 1998 case State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group, Inc. , software patents were generally not recognized in the United States. In that case, the Supreme Court decided that business processes could be patented. Patent applications are complex and costly, and lawsuits involving patents can drive up
3886-431: The problems facing these full-time teachers is the absence of an international governing body for the certification or licensure of English language teachers. However, Cambridge University and its subsidiary body UCLES are pioneers in trying to get some degree of accountability and quality control to consumers of English courses, through their CELTA and DELTA programs. Trinity College London has equivalent programs,
3953-409: The profession. Many tertiary education providers grant professional certificates as an award for the completion of an educational program. The curriculum of a professional certificate is most often in a focused subject matter. Many professional certificates have the same curriculum as master's degrees in the same subject. Many other professional certificates offer the same courses as master's degrees in
4020-483: The recognition of the certification body, under the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The most general type of certification is profession-wide. Certification in the medical profession is often offered by particular specialties. In order to apply professional standards, increase the level of practice, and protect the public, a professional organization might establish a certification. This
4087-408: The release. Over time, the level of maintenance becomes increasingly restricted before being cut off entirely when the product is withdrawn from the market. As software ages , it becomes known as legacy software and can remain in use for decades, even if there is no one left who knows how to fix it. Over the lifetime of the product, software maintenance is estimated to comprise 75 percent or more of
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#17328515025354154-424: The same license, which can create complications when open-source software is reused in proprietary projects. Patents give an inventor an exclusive, time-limited license for a novel product or process. Ideas about what software could accomplish are not protected by law and concrete implementations are instead covered by copyright law . In some countries, a requirement for the claimed invention to have an effect on
4221-530: The same subject, but require the student to take fewer total courses to complete the program. Some professional certificates have a curriculum that more closely resembles a baccalaureate major in the same field. The typical professional certificate program is between 200 and 300 class-hours in size. It is uncommon for a program to be larger or smaller than that. Most professional certificate programs are open enrollment, but some have admissions processes. A few universities put some of their professional certificates into
4288-431: The total development cost. Completing a software project involves various forms of expertise, not just in software programmers but also testing, documentation writing, project management , graphic design , user experience , user support, marketing , and fundraising. Software quality is defined as meeting the stated requirements as well as customer expectations. Quality is an overarching term that can refer to
4355-464: The type of flying permitted, are obligatory. An aviator can fly only if holding: In Europe , the ANSP , ATCO & ANSP technicians are certified according to EUROCONTROL Safety Regulatory Requirement (ESARRs) (according to EU regulation 2096/2005 "Common Requirements"). In the United States, several communications certifications are conferred by the Electronics Technicians Association . Certification
4422-453: Was not until the last twenty-five years or so that there was any widespread focus on training particularly for this field. Previously, workers in this sort of job were people engaging in backpacker tourism hoping to earn some extra travel money or well-educated professionals in other fields volunteering , or retired people. These sort of people are certainly still to be found, but there are many who consider TESOL their main profession. One of
4489-401: Was simultaneous with the compilers needed to translate them automatically into machine code. Most programs do not contain all the resources needed to run them and rely on external libraries . Part of the compiler's function is to link these files in such a way that the program can be executed by the hardware. Once compiled, the program can be saved as an object file and the loader (part of
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