In the current climate of professionalism and accountability in all spheres of life, the emphasis on people holding qualifications relevant to their employment has never been greater.
Professional certification is a designation that assures the recipient has the qualifications to perform the job. Many industry professional bodies are involved in the development and monitoring of ongoing professional educational programs and thus perform professional certification.
The most general type of certification is profession‐wide. Certification is established by a professional body in order to apply professional standards and increase the level of practice. This is intended to be portable to all places the recipient might work. Many professions offer on‐going professional development programs. In addition, many associations mandate that their members undertake minimum study and up‐skilling to maintain their professional certification.