I just got in my inbox; a link to my complimentary copy of Brainbench’s 2006 Global Skills Report. Brainbench is an online testing company which is known for its innovative, yet easy-to-use online assessment solutions (quoted from their site.)
The report, which was created by Brainbench’s research staff, was based from their data on information technology and workplace skills, categorized by country, state and US region. They also track the changes in the demand for some particular knowledge areas and skills.
In their list of Top Ten Countries in terms of overall certification, the Philippines secured the 9th spot (4594 total cert). Same rank it had in 2005, but with a -4% drop. Other countries who are on the list are US(1), India (2), Russian Federation(3), Ukraine(4), Romania(5), UK(6),Canada(7), Belarus(8), Bulgaria(10).
In IT, the number one spot in the top ten skill certifications around the globe belonged to C#. Also included in the list were Software Testing, C++, .NET Framework, Computer Technical Support, ASP.NET, RDBMS Concepts, Project Management, Java 2 Fundamentals and Linux Administration. Just goes to show how popular C# is right now and is therefore a must skill to have.
For non technical skills, the Philippines landed in the top five most number of certifications awarded for: Accounts Payable Fundamentals(4); Accounts Receivable/Billing Fundamentals(5), Financial Accounting-US(5), Typing Speed and Accuracy(4), ICD-9 and CPT Coding(4).
In line with this, having a certification will not always translate to an easier job interview as interviewers might gear themselves to dishout tougher questions. But hey, if you didn’t cheat on your exam, you have nothing to worry about.