Certification vs. Qualification.

The training industry has grown a great deal in the past 20 years, and in that time, trends have come and gone, some evolving to greater heights and some diluting into virtual meaninglessness.

One of the most insidious aspects of the training industry is the trend of certifiable workshops claiming to teach practical knowledge where the attendee will have usable skills by the end of a few hours, a single day or a weekend.

Wikipedia (yes, this is a Wikipedia reference) defines certification as: [referring] "to the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization. This confirmation is often, but not always, (emphasis added) provided by some form of external review, education, assessment or audit."
It also defines qualification as: "A title or attribute gained in education, through examinaation or by certification." Perhaps a clarification is required here.

Certification in the industry, across a plethora of fitness and training modalities, is most often signified by a certificate (and continuing education creditable points/hours) acquired at the end of the attendance to an event designed to educate a group of individuals on the concept(s) being taught or elucidated. Sometimes the certification is qualified by an examination process to prove that the individual is competent in utilizing the knowledge gained. All too often however, there is no assessment of the individual’s understanding of the new concepts and they are free to interpret and implement the knowledge as they see fit, without adherence to a set of standardized principles.

A valuable and great experience, otherwise very little practical or directly applicable value.

Qualification on the other hand does not necessarily entail a certification process (or accreditation) by a governing body, although in professional trades circles, it is common, but does require that a practitioner develop an in depth understanding of the fundamental principles of the concept(s), either through a combination of lengthy education and practicum processes such as an apprenticeship, internship, mentorship and/or a trades credential, diploma or degree. Qualification is reminiscent of a long used system where a young person would learn from an already established individual in a particular trade, e.g. a blacksmith. Years of learning and subsequent practice were what determined whether or not the individual earned the right to call themself a practitioner, or in time, a master of the given trade.

In formal education, the typical flow is to go to class, self-study from text and notes and then to write exams based on the knowledge provided. This works fairly well, but in the current system, as class sizes grow and many professors have other commitments (such as research and supervising masters students, and/or publishing) to attend to, the attention that students receive is becoming more and more limited. There is also a very small, sometimes non-existent, practical component to the classroom education, at least as far as the training industry is concerned.

Frequently, discussions and thought process-promoting dialogue with knowledgeable peers are unavailable, leaving critical thinking processes off the board to a fair extent.

Technical colleges do something of a better job integrating these aspects of education into an individual’s learning, but the final certification is not necessarily regarded the same way in the working world, i.e. tradesmen are often viewed as less intellectually developed, although more experienced in their given craft at the time of their certification’s completion.

In the training industry, there is a commitment to learning that needs to be respected in order to be successful. These include the initial certification that creates a baseline education, sufficient for the practitioner to be insured. This may or may not include a university or college level education degree or diploma. Following this, there may be a post-graduate degree to be achieved and then continuing education to be maintained moving forward.

The title of the article ought to lead to a discussion around the differences between the two, but more importantly, what goes into both and what the eventual outcome should be and what can be expected of the practitioner within a given timeframe.

Continuing education credits are received for the completion of a number of different educational opportunities. Some are workshop or lecture based, where the attendee may receive a certificate of completion upon finishing the hours/days/weekend(s). Herein lies a problem. If the education component is not tested, how can we be certain that a practitioner has achieved a level of understanding sufficient to utilize the newly gained principles or techniques in a safe and effective manner? Over the years, it seems that more and more entities are handing out certifications based on attendance, rather than learning. Often these entities are educating practitioners on how to utilize a specific tool or concept in a narrow scope or environment, which may or may not allow them an understanding sufficient to effectively apply the newly acquired tools.

In short, whomever is hired into a position of authoritative practice ought to have completed both; certification(s) to ensure adequate base knowledge, sufficient to prove the capacity to deliver basic principles safely, and also enough qualitative practice to ensure a sufficient understanding of how to manipulate principles into a custom program for either a team, individual or group so that the safety and efficacy of the goals can be reached.

Although it is impressive to maintain a list of credentials attached to your name, be able to recite research at a whim, it does not prove the ability to administer a program at any given level. It is this that becomes a concern when the livelihood of a talented athlete, or the day-to-day function of the general population, are at stake.

Keep learning, questioning, practicing, serving your base to the best of your abilities, always know your limitations and who to refer to when you skill level has reached its practical ceiling.