Why are industry certifications important for students?

Oracle Academy Tech Chat

In this episode, Oracle Academy Senior Director EMEA, Jane Richardson speaks with Valerie Hayotte Director EMEA Skills Development, CSS OU Cloud Services on industry certifications, and how students who get industry certifications will have an advantage in the job market. ------------------------------------------------------- Episode Transcript: 00;00;09;03 - 00;00;46;04 Welcome to the Oracle Academy Tech Chat. This podcast provides educators and students in-depth discussions with thought leaders around computer science, cloud technologies and software design to help students on their journey to becoming industry ready technology leaders. Of the Future. Let's get started. Hello and welcome to Oracle Academy Tech Chat, where today we will discuss how Oracle University supports students to prepare to be part of the next Generations workforce by providing access to Oracle professional certification skills that are in high demand. 00;00;46;18 - 00;01;24;08 I'm your host, Jane Richardson, senior director for Oracle Academy in EMEA. I'm delighted to be speaking to Valerie Hayat, the director of Global Skills Program of Oracle University in India, to talk about the importance of professional certification. Many governments are looking to develop their digital skills for their citizens and for their own employees, and the most recent reports have highlight that the fastest growing roles relative to their size today are driven by technology, digitalization and sustainability. 00;01;24;29 - 00;01;50;16 The majority of the fastest growing rules are technology related rules, with AI and machine learning specialists topping the list of fast growing jobs. So I think we could see that this implies, as people need to acquire skills, reskill or upskill on these technologies to develop their careers for now and in the future. So, Valerie, how do you think this can be achieved and achieved very quickly? 00;01;50;25 - 00;02;16;02 Jane, I would say that there is a digital boom. Digital technologies are undoubtedly a sector with a bright future. There is no shortage of data to confirm that digital technology and I.T. professions all sectors and jobs of the future. To me, there is no shortcut to acquire new skills. Obviously, everything is about learning and learning the right way. 00;02;16;27 - 00;02;53;28 I see two different angles. So Oracle Academy and Oracle University all together offer a lifelong learning journey. So to me, the first anchor, they are the students, people in education. This is where Oracle Academy is key. You work with institution and educator and partners across the globe to help millions of students become technology innovators and leaders. You provide educational institutions with the resources they need to help educators develop computing knowledge and skills aligned to industry standards. 00;02;54;16 - 00;03;27;15 You help them keep up with ever changing technologies to help prepare students for the future. And you do provide access to a wide range of teaching and educational resources. That includes curriculum, classroom learning, resources, cloud technology, practice, environment and much more. The second angle, they are the working professionals and also the students entering the workforce. This is where Oracle University focuses on Oracle University as a powerful digital learning platform. 00;03;27;24 - 00;04;03;02 And as you know, it is called My learn. My Learn and is available 24 by 765 days a year so people can learn at their own pace. Milo covers all the products and technologies of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Cloud Applications Database, Java Industry Solutions, business process and so on. My Learn provides thousands of hours of videos, very well organized and structured courses with Enzo, lab practice environment demonstrations and more. 00;04;04;04 - 00;04;38;22 My LEARN is a customizable, personalized training portal that then season speeds the learning on Oracle Cloud. Learners can find their training fast, get a course recommendation that best matched the learning goals and they can easily track their progress. Whether you're a beginner or another one and you will find what you are looking for on My learn, starting with the Learning Expo program as an example, which provides basic knowledge of some 60 Oracle solutions that include Java. 00;04;38;22 - 00;05;40;07 My sequel database Cloud Infrastructure, or Apex, as well as HCM supply chain, among others. Through the defense training courses that will enable learners to acquire a professional certification that is recognized on the market, Oracle Fusion also notification exams are included loaded in the digital learning bus, and we have also introduced a grade delta certification exams that are reducing the preparation time and making it easier to maintain a cloud application or SAS certification in addition to the opportunity to gain a professional recertification, learners will also be able to earn badges that indicate their job readiness for specialized job roles, helping potential employers more easily identify candidates and supporting job placements opportunities. 00;05;41;06 - 00;06;13;02 Mylan and the learning base are continuously updated with new content. Typically, we recently introduced a new course on OCI, a foundations in less than two months. Over 10,000 people pass their certification on OCI. That is a great achievement. The fact that people talk to others is also a key element in the learning cycle. It is important to connect with peers, experts, instructors. 00;06;13;16 - 00;06;49;29 That's why now my includes also a community where you can connect with a network of certified peers and Oracle experts or instructors. You can share your knowledge, ask questions, post a new conversations, and so on. Community members can collaborate and learn the ways experts be as practitioners. They can grow their skills, inspire innovation and celebrate their success. The community, believe me, is now made of more than 600,000 members and is growing every day. 00;06;50;12 - 00;07;37;25 That's absolutely fantastic and extremely impressive. And I think the collaboration between Oracle Academy and Oracle University really is showing that lifelong learning journey that you were talking about and giving all learners the opportunity to move to professional certification and give them the opportunity to look to these new jobs of the future. So looking at jobs of the future, do you see some risks for some job rules related to the new technologies, specifically AI and developers, for example, artificial intelligence can be presented or perceived as a threat, for example, for developers. 00;07;38;08 - 00;08;13;04 But on the contrary, AI seems to represent an excellent complement that enables developers to focus on the high value added tasks and work faster and more efficiently, even gaining in skills. A study from the official French Observatory for Digital Engineering Consulting related presentation said We called up also shows more than 24 thousands of developers recruited in France in one year by companies in the branch of digital sector. 00;08;13;10 - 00;08;50;04 And that number does not take into account all those sectors. Still, according to the study, the National trend in job offers for developers occupation is up by almost 19%, with over 54,000 job offers in one year. Recruitment opportunities are constantly increasing. Another study published by Dell and the Institute for the Future concludes that 85% of the job of 2040 don't yet exist. 00;08;50;24 - 00;09;25;01 It is certain to me that A.I. will transform existing professions, but will also create new ones. This is clear. Companies are looking for staff in age related professions. The sector is booming. To give just a few examples of jobs that the analysts that the scientist or integrator will integrate into existing products and services. So there are opportune cities for individuals to benefit from the boom in AI. 00;09;25;01 - 00;09;47;03 And that's good to know for students that are looking to develop their career path or those individuals outside of education who are maybe looking to decide on developing a different career to the one that they are in right now. So, you know, certification is something that we that is often raised not just by students but by all professionals. 00;09;48;05 - 00;10;16;07 So Valorie would you recommend learners to continue their learning journey by going towards achieving professional certification? Oh, yes. And it is something I would highly recommend I would recommend to students in education and soon to enter the workforce to move forward as soon as they can with a professional certification. In fact, I would recommend anyone to go for it. 00;10;16;08 - 00;10;57;15 For many reasons, as you perfectly pointed out earlier, employers are wanting to hire students with demonstrable industry, relevant career ready skills and industry certified. Asians are ready to become the next technology workforce. Let's have a look at Persons You 2023 report on the value of I.T. certification. This report shares the perspectives and experiences of more than 21,000 professionals in 176 countries well prepared for and earned I.T. certification amidst changing and challenging working conditions. 00;10;58;14 - 00;11;30;11 The results indicate that in a world where greater demand for tech skills meets a global talent shortage, I.T. certifications are the ideal means to address both. When this report is paired with our most recent Employer Focus report. It is clearer than ever that the value of I.T. certifications is understood and appreciated by both those pursuing them and the organizations that they work for. 00;11;31;06 - 00;12;10;23 We learned when it comes to certifications that candidate, professional and personal he was for investing. Inserts vacation Credentialed employees are more empowered and contribute greater value. So certification seekers are getting younger. Pandemic driven technology demands have become the norm. The benefits are for both candidates and employers. Some of the benefits emphasized also in the report for the candidates, are showing that 92% of the candidates feel more confident in their abilities. 00;12;11;10 - 00;12;56;09 84% are more determined to succeed professionally, and 37% received a salary increase. On the employer side, employers said that 81% of candidates produce higher quality work. 77% are more innovative and 72% are more efficient. Also, look at the Oracle universe based on certified Asian. You can see many, many other professional benefits of being Oracle certified. And you can hear from many Oracle certified professionals earning an Oracle certification enabled professionals to demonstrate in-demand skills. 00;12;56;21 - 00;13;36;02 Shorten project turnaround time, improve overall job performance and increase their earnings potential, all while boosting on the job confidence. And that's a very interesting point you made, Valorie, about younger and younger individuals pursuing certification. And it's certainly something that we see within the Oracle Academy where many students previously would not have considered certification while studying for their mean degree, but that is changing and it is becoming one of the key questions that we are asked when speaking to students and faculty. 00;13;36;08 - 00;14;04;20 So that all begins to make sense. So Valerie, this has been very, very interesting in terms of, you know, how Oracle University works, how the digital skills program is bringing much more learning to individuals all around the world. But I have one final question for you. If you could give one piece of advice to faculty or students, what would it be? 00;14;04;21 - 00;14;45;02 Never give up. Never be curious and be kind. You are your personal best asset and everything is in your hands. Never stop learning and investing in yourself. It will pay off. Seeing this will bring you continuous power, control and inspiration. Lastly, be kind as this may become contagious and inspiring. Thank you very early and yes, be kind and be the change maker for yourself, for encouraging words or for everyone listening to this today. 00;14;45;17 - 00;15;32;00 So thank you, Valorie, for your amazing insight. Since the world of learning through Oracle University, I think what I've taken from this is that we can see that learning is indeed a lifelong journey that does not stop when you leave formal education, but will continue across our careers. Indeed, the pace of change you alluded to in the technology sector must mean that as the sector needs to attract more people into its workforce, our citizens need to be able to access these learning opportunities, such as the great project with the government of Morocco, which you were talking about, and obviously what you're seeing about professional certification being key to demonstrate your skills to a potential employer. 00;15;32;25 - 00;16;02;23 So to learn more about Oracle Academy and our resources, please visit Oracle Academy dot com and subscribe to our podcast. Also, if you're interested in how you can follow a path to professional certification, please go to Oracle University dot com for more information. Thank you for listening. That wraps up this episode. Thanks for listening and stay tuned for the next Oracle Academy Tech Chat podcast.