Certification Watch: Latest News From IBM, Cisco And Microsoft

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On July 1 the Field Certified Professional Association (FCPA) will release its first six hands-on exams in a bid to move IT certification toward a more real-world assessment format and away from the traditional multiple-choice computer-based testing in common use today.

The FCPA exams require candidates to interact with a live environment and perform assigned tasks within a specified time period. Read the full story and get the list of new exams at the FCPA Press Release.

Cisco Adds MxU Specialist Certification

Cisco MxU Specialist is the latest addition to the Cisco Qualified Specialist program. This two-exam certification is for individuals who install, configure, operate, and troubleshoot Cisco Broadband Service Manager (BBSM) and Cisco Long Reach Ethernet (LRE) networking solutions-solutions.

These products are used to deliver broadband access to buildings (hotels, residential multi-dwelling units [MDUs], and multi-tenant unit [MTU] office buildings), and enterprise campus environments, such as manufacturing, educational campuses, and medical facilities. Candidates must first hold a CCNA designation.
See GoCertify’s page covering this certification for further info.

Cisco “Refreshes” CCNP, CCDP, CCIP Exams

In other Cisco Systems news, a new set of exams for the CCNP, CCDP, and CCIP certifications has been released. The new exams contain all new questions and simulations have been added to the BSCI 640-901, Routing 640-603, and Remote Access 640-605 exams. The new exams are numbered slightly differently so if you already signed up to take one of these exams within the next six weeks you will be given the original (one you signed up for). After that only the new exams (numbered 640-6xx rather than 640-5xx) will be administered.

CIBRES Guarantees Their Certification

In a move Certification Watch has not seen before, CIBRES is offering a money-back guarantee that those who earn CIERP certification will find it useful. CIERP stands for Certified Implementer of Enterprise Resource Planning.

The certification demonstrates the basic skill sets necessary to successfully implement and maintain an ERP system. Candidates who pass the exam and don’t feel (after a year) that is benefited them can get the entire exam cost reimbursed ($230). Other expenses, such as the cost of study materials, are not covered.

For more information visit the
Cibres Web site.

Vendor Neutral Database Certification Launched

Team Database’s first vendor-neutral database
certification exam went live on June 17 through Prometric
testing centers. Passing this first exam will qualify individuals to
use the Certified Database Industry Specialist title. It will also
count toward the higher levels of certification still being rolled
out by Team Database.

The exam costs $99 for Team Database members
(membership costs $25 for charter members) and $180 for non-members.
For exam objectives and further details see the Team Database Web site.

Microsoft Developer Core Exams Live
Two core exams that apply to the MCAD .NET and MCSD .NET
certifications are now live. Exam 70-306: Developing and Implementing
Windows-based Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and
Microsoft Visual Studio .NET; and exam 70-316, its C# counterpart,
are available in testing centers.

IBM Extends VisualAge for Java Certifications
In a reversal of previously announced plans, IBM has decided not to retire the IBM VisualAge for Java/WebSphere V4.0 certifications until December 31, 2002. Originally these certifications were scheduled to retire June 30. To see the full list of affected certifications visit the IBM Web site.

That’s all for this edition of Certification Watch. Please keep your
certification news and tips coming to news@gocertify.com.

Anne Martinez is the author of Cheap Web Tricks: Build and Promote a Successful Web Site Without Spending A Dime and Get Certified and Get Ahead. She also is the founder of GoCertify.com.