At ITS, we believe that learning doesn’t stop after graduation day. We are a company of lifelong learners.

Continuous education is central to our philosophy on advancing employee development. It is a vital component of our commitment to the professional growth and satisfaction of every team member.

We empower our employees to seek continuous education through professional certifications that pique their interests, grow their skillsets, and bolster their positions at ITS.

ITS has observed great benefits from the encouragement of certification. Today, we’ll explore three reasons certification plays a role in the success of our employees and our company.

1. Certifications Reflect Our ITS Culture

When employees start out at a company, they may feel a pressure to know—or at least act like they know—everything about the field or industry they are working in.

At ITS, we understand that this is an unreasonable expectation. We strive, instead, to cultivate an environment of ongoing learning. We ask our employees to readily acknowledge when they don’t know something, without fear of judgement. We encourage them to learn, grow, and discover their strengths in our company, and we actively support them in their efforts to build additional skillsets.

Certifications are an important part of how we create this environment. Through certification, employees branch out into an area of interest or an area of necessity, fill a knowledge gap, and then demonstrate their command of that learned skill. Employees experience how certifications can be a powerful tool for knowledge acquisition and sharing.

As more employees complete certifications, ITS grows our company-wide passion for lifelong learning.

2. Certifications Streamline Company Communication

Certifications can promote a level of universal technical knowledge among employees. At ITS, data is our common language. For this reason, all ITS employees are required to take and pass an in-house ITS SQL Certification.

The ITS SQL Certification is a case of a company-wide certification that benefits all employees. This certification helps us ensure that all employees are aware of our technical business rules. It also enables us to convey the significance of data flow at ITS and inclusively provide all employees the opportunity to experience and practice relevant technical skills, no matter the nature of their position.

As a result, this certification allows for more effective cross-company communication—in meetings, announcements, emails, and documentation—because all ITS employees have a baseline understanding of the database system that ITS is reliant upon.

3. Certifications Support Employee Interests, Development, and Workflow

Almost 100% of ITS employees possess at least one certification. But our employees don’t stop there.

Many choose to independently pursue additional certifications. Currently, 37% of ITS employees possess two or more certifications. We’re constantly encouraging growth in that number.

Favorites at ITS include IT and programming, database development, project management, QA, and network security certifications.

The fact that our employees are seeking further certification demonstrates to us that they are excited by the opportunity to challenge themselves and expand their skillsets.

Certifications offer employees the opportunity to:

• Acquire Skills
  Employees pursue certifications to learn wholly new skills or refresh and boost existing skills. They pursue avenues of all-around professional development, as well as chances to deepen their understanding of technical and industry-specific topics.

• Remain Current in their Industry
  Employees attain certifications to keep pace with industry developments and technology advancements. This enables them to remain at the forefront of their specialties and makes their jobs easier and more efficient.
  

Employees who complete certifications have a renewed sense of engagement in their work. They are eager to apply what they’ve learned to their position, make improvements to their daily workflow, and share what they’ve learned with their peers.

At ITS, we’ve discovered that the desire to learn is contagious. When one employee shares a newly acquired skill, they inspire other employees to explore their own learning opportunities.

By promoting certification in our company, we encourage a culture of lifelong learning. We believe that providing opportunities for professional growth is fundamental to our employees’ professional satisfaction.