Microsoft qualifications accounted for the largest slice of the certification pie in this year`s survey, reflecting the company`s aggressive marketing over the past few years.
[TABLE]As many as 38% of respondents have a Microsoft qualification, with the Microsoft Certified Software Engineer (MCSE) still topping the scales and accounting for 17% of the general staff survey sample.
[CHART]Microsoft`s Certified Professional qualification accounted for another 15% of the sample, and the Microsoft Certified Software Developer (MCSD), Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS) and Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA) qualifications filled out the remaining 6%.
[CHART]The notable areas of growth over the past year were in the Internet and networking areas. Cisco (7.5%) qualifications made a solid appearance in the survey, in line with predictions made last year, while Novell qualifications were particularly strong at almost 14%.
[CHART]On the Cisco side, the Cisco Certified Networking Associate accounted for more than a half of the Cisco qualifications held, and Cisco Certified Developer Associates and Cisco Certified Networking accounted for the rest of this total. Certified Novell Administrators and Certified Novell Engineers accounted for the vast majority of Novell certifications, with only a few professionals having obtained the more recently introduced Novell Directory Engineer and Novell Internet Professional.
While Microsoft certifications were most widely held, the over-subscription of these qualifications was reflected by the relatively low average incomes commanded by certificate-holders. While not the lowest paid, those with Microsoft qualifications earned on average between R15 400 and R17 300 a month.
[CHART]At the high end of the scale, Sun Certified Java Architect qualifications commanded the bigger portion of the income pie with holders of these certifications earning more than R39 000 on average.
[CHART]Respondents holding a Cisco Certified Developer Professional qualification reported an average income of more than R36 000, while Informix Certified Professionals averaged over R29 000 a month. SAP R/3 and Novell Certified Directory Engineer qualifications both averaged over R25 000.
At the bottom end of the remuneration market were the Linux+ and A+ qualifications, earning an average of R11 650 and R12 400 respectively. While the Linux+ qualification only accounts for a fraction of the survey, the A+ is one of the most widely held qualifications, with more than 10% of the sample. In comparison, holders of the ever-popular MCSE certification reported an average income of just over R15 000.
[CHART]Sun skills, representing just 1.1% of the total qualifications held, commanded a significant portion of the remuneration pie, while Oracle (1.4%) qualification-holders faired a little worse.
Supply and demand
Org Geldenhuys, director of Abacus Recruitment, says Cisco-certified professionals, as well as good SAP and Oracle specialists, are in great demand.
"We have clients offering R300 000 for a CCIE [Cisco Certified Internet Engineer], even without experience. But I have no one saying 'bring me an MCSE and I`ll pay him R10 000 a month`."
As to A+ and Microsoft certifications, Geldenhuys says: "It`s a mass market." An MCSE with no experience could earn about R5 000 per month, but the demand is poor.
He says companies are prepared to pay fairly well for all good programming language skills, but Java seems to be more sought-after than C++ or Visual Basic. "There`s massive demand for Java. People with Java and five years experience can command salaries of up to R400 000, while Visual Basic programmers would probably be earning between R200 000 and R250 000."
Adrian Schofield, international sales and marketing director of CompTIA (The Computing Technology Industry Association), says there "is a much lower demand for certification than there has been in the past. Last year has seen demand significantly decrease. It`s no longer considered a passport to a higher salary, or even a job - at least not without experience."
Sharene Menteath, principal of CTI-online, agrees, saying there "has been a decline in demand for entry-level skills" which she classifies as anyone with a qualification and less than two years experience. "I think we [training institutions] have saturated this market with entry-level qualifications," says Menteath. "Also, many top-end people have left the country, creating a demand for higher level skills."
"Having no experience is nearly as bad as having no certification as employers continue to seek people who can be productive straight away," says Schofield.
For those who have experience, being certified often means being able to command a higher salary.
"Our research shows that people with certifications earn higher salaries," confirms Schofield. "In SA, people have used certification as a milestone at each point of their career."
He says that elsewhere in the world "certification tends to be used as a measure of one`s ability to use a technology and perform a task, while in SA there`s too much emphasis on using certification as a lever to get the job".
Menteath says the trend towards Internet and e-commerce skills has been significant over the past year, and the company is seeing a greater need for back-end e-commerce and programming skills. While not accounting for a significant portion of the certification pie in the survey, just over 2% of respondents reported having the relatively new Certified Internet Webmaster qualification. The qualification, while reporting average incomes a little higher than Microsoft certificates, is still relatively low in the income race.
Schofield says that although exams are expensive, the costs associated with many qualifications in SA are significantly lower than elsewhere in the world.
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