Certification and STC’s Certified Professional Technical Communicator: What You Need to Know

By Liz Pohland | STC Director of Communications and Senior Member and Chris Lyons | STC Executive Director

A guide for those considering certification, this article explains the purpose of certification programs, compares certification with other types of credentialing, and identifies reasons technical communicators should consider certifying as CPTCs.

What Is Certification and Why Do Organizations Certify?

Any organization can consider creating a certification program for a particular skill or knowledge of an industry or field. Organizations may consider a certification program if: 1) they have a measurable business need to formally validate an individual’s knowledge or skill in a particular product or content area; 2) there are no tests or credentials available from other organizations to measure the same level of performance on similar content or products; and 3) verifying a minimum performance capability of an individual is critical to the job (e.g., for safety, health, environmental, or other risk-related concerns).

One of the tasks in designing a certification program is to find a valid driver—a problem worth solving. The first reason most organizations certify focuses on recognizing a professional’s accomplishments and improving work processes. Organizations certify individuals to protect the public, confirming that practitioners have or can get the knowledge and skills required to do their jobs safely, efficiently, and effectively. They also certify to validate or enhance the stature of a role or position, to promote continuous improvement, to increase productivity, and to maintain skills and knowledge. Hiring organizations want a certified workforce so they can attract and retain competent staff, establish uniform performance standards to rapidly deploy workers, raise the level of core competencies, create multidisciplinary jobs, and comply with local and international standards.

Since professional certification confirms or validates knowledge or performance capability, it is important that the certifying organization also be recognized as an appropriate body to determine and grant professional certification. This body is often leading or generally recognized and active organizations for professionals in a field. A professional certification created by an individual, an unknown association, or just an organized group would lack credibility.

The Society for Technical Communication launched a certification program for technical communicators in 2011. The goal behind the program was to create preference in the marketplace for certified technical communicators and to validate efforts in learning core skills, best practices, and specific industry standards. STC believes that certification is a powerful tool for driving market recognition and adoption of an essential skill set.

Per a report written in June 2009 titled “STC Certification Drivers,” the STC Certification Task Force at the time identified driving factors for a certification program for technical communicators:

• Establish uniform worldwide performance standards.
• Increase employability and salary of certified practitioners.
• Satisfy employer expectations.
• Reduce risk for employers.

Definitions of Credentials

The terms certification, licensure, standardization, accreditation, and certificate are sometimes used interchangeably in the vernacular, but there are important distinctions between the definitions of each type of credential.

Certification is a voluntary process by which a nongovernmental agency or association grants recognition to individuals who have met certain predetermined qualifications of professional competence specified by that agency or association upon an assessment. Such qualifications may include acceptable performance on a qualifying examination and/or completion of some specified amount or type of work experience in the field. Examples of certifications include STC’s Certified Professional Technical Communicator, the American Medical Writers Association’s Certified Medical Writer, or the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional.

Licensure is the process by which a government agency grants permission to individuals to engage in a given profession or occupation by certifying that those licensed have attained the minimal degree of competency necessary to ensure reasonable protection of the public’s health, safety, and welfare. Licenses are usually justified to regulate an activity whose incompetent execution would be a threat to the public, such as with conducting surgery or driving motor vehicles. Examples of workers who need licenses to do their work include board certified doctors, lawyers who have been admitted to the bar, commercial licensed truck drivers, and airline plane captains.

Standardization is the process by which a product or service is assessed against standards and specifications, such as the Underwriters’ Laboratory seal on electrical fixtures or self audits done by companies that want to show compliance to national or international standards, such as American National Standards Institute guidelines and ISO 9000 standards (ASAE 1987).

Accreditation is the process whereby an accrediting body grants public recognition to a school, institute, college, university, or specialized program of study having met certain established qualifications or standards as determined through initial and periodic evaluations. For example, engineering and business programs are accredited by specialized organizations that have established performance standards for academic programs in the field.

Certificates are probably the most commonly confused with certification, but they are very different. An easy rule of thumb is a certificate recognizes completion of a defined program of study or a course and recognize completion of specific learning outcomes provided by instruction and training. Certifications award designations to recognize professional achievements from knowledge, skills, and competencies previously acquired. Examples of certificates include short-term programs of study—such as the certificate programs offered by STC and private training and development organizations like Watermark Learning’s Agile Certificate (see www.watermarklearning.com/certification/agile/academic/agile-certificates.php)—and programs of study involving several courses—such as certificate programs in technical communication offered by the continuing education units of many colleges and universities (see University of Michigan’s School of Public Health Certificate Programs, https://sph.umich.edu/academics/programs-degrees/certificates.html).

STC’s Certified Professional Technical Communicator (CPTC)

STC’s Certified Professional Technical Communicator program reopened in December 2015 (www.stc.org/education/certification/certification-main). The re-engineered program is a three-tiered professional certification: Foundation, Practitioner, and Expert.

• The Foundation-level Professional Certification focuses on knowledge of the field. To achieve the Certified Professional Technical Communicator—Foundation designation, applicants must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of best practices in technical communication by passing an exam. Visit http://www.apmg-international.com/en/qualifications/CPTC/CPTC.aspx to learn more about the exam.
• The Practitioner-level Professional Certification will demonstrate mastery of applying best practices and leading others in their use. The achievement of the Certified Professional Technical Communicator—Practitioner designation will likely be a test and an evaluation of work product(s).
• The Expert-level Professional Certification requirements will be similar to the CPTC program launched in 2012, requiring a set of work products and subject matter expert interviews.

Why Should a Technical Communicator Pursue Certification?

The chief benefit of certification is simple: A certification program creates a preference in the job market for people who have taken the time to invest in themselves—in their skills and experience. For individuals in particular, becoming certified can be invaluable because it provides proof of your abilities, a robust understanding of the knowledge and specialized skills that are necessary to perform with a high degree of competence in a field, and a continuing process for remaining relevant in the field. In every profession, professional certification helps employee, employer, and the consumer.

Employees benefit from professional certification in several ways:

1. Validation of an employee’s skills and knowledge by a third party. In the case of the Certified Professional Technical Communicator credential, STC provides that validation. Additionally, STC is working with a vendor whose accreditation processes follow ISO standards. For the employee, STC’s Certified Professional Technical Communicator certification, with accompanying requirements for continuing education, is a professional milestone that carries weight and credibility among peers, clients, and organizational leaders.
2. Differentiation from others in the marketplace and the ability to command higher pay. Professional certification is an important credential on a résumé and provides evidence of qualifications. It denotes a level of competency and is an indicator of commitment and quality performance and output. For those not looking for jobs, obtaining certification may be a requirement for advancement or a way of standing out from peers or competitors and commanding higher pay or more responsibilities.
3. Engagement and commitment to the field. On a personal level, the certification process and requirement for annual training forces the practitioner to stay current, work on multiple types of jobs, learn new skills, and network with peers.

Employers also benefit from professional certification.

1. Validation of an employee’s skills and knowledge by a third party. Professional certification provides a quality marker that helps an employer gauge the effectiveness and qualifications of a potential hire. It reduces risk and simplifies the search through validation of knowledge and by providing a hiring baseline. When professional certification is a requirement in a job posting, it greatly focuses the candidate pool. Since the employer is depending on an independent validation to verify a candidate’s skill, it is important that the certification is granted by an established and credible organization such as STC.
2. Differentiation from others in the workforce. Employers want their hires to stay current and continue to grow in the profession. Professional certification programs and their related continuing education requirements provide milestones for employees and, after completing a certification qualification, remain a driver of continuing education and training. Employers can use achievement of professional certification as evidence for advancement or pay increases as well.
3. Engagement and commitment to the field and the business. Certified professionals with proven knowledge and competency will contribute more to an organization. They may be faster or more accurate workers, and they may be more creative or insightful in solving related business problems. And certified employees provide evidence that an organization’s technical communication team is more qualified than that of its competitors.

With certified professionals in the workforce, the consumer is better off as well. Knowledgeable workers result in better communications: instructions are more easily understood, warnings are relayed properly, descriptions are complete, content can be reused, and the device used to access the content doesn’t limit the user. For technical communicators, professional certification sets a standard for skills, knowledge, and performance across the field of content work and information products. Ultimately, developing a well-thought-out certification program helps an organization’s employees, customers, and members advance the organization’s interests, as well as their own. It is arguably the best way to create confidence in the marketplace.

The Society for Technical Communication is fulfilling one of its mandates as an association by creating and sponsoring professional certification for technical communicators. We hope all of our members, academics, students, and other practitioners in the field take advantage of this program.

LIZ POHLAND (liz.pohland@stc.org) is STC’s Director of Communications and the editor of Intercom. During her tenure with STC, she has also worked closely on the certification program development and the Technical Communication Body of Knowledge.

CHRIS LYONS (chris.lyons@stc.org) is the Chief Executive Officer of STC. He has worked for the past 15 years as a manager and business transformation consultant assisting nonprofit, commercial, and government clients in developing strategies and improving their operations.

References and Resources

American Society of Association Executives. Accreditation, Certification, and Standardization: A Background Paper. Washington, DC: ASAE, 1987.

Carliner, Saul, Liz Pohland, and Steven Jong. Certification and Its Implications to the Academic Community in Professional and Technical Communication. Programmatic Perspectives 6.2 (Fall 2014): 3–20.

Cox, John B. ed. Professional Practices in Association Management, 2d ed. Washington, DC: ASAE Association Management Press, 2007.

Hale, Judith. Performance-Based Certification: How to Design a Valid, Defensible, Cost-Effective Program, 2d ed. Pfeiffer, 2011.

Institute for Credentialing Excellence. Certificate vs. Certification: What’s the Difference? www.credentialingexcellence.org/p/cm/ld/fid=4.

Knapp, Joan E. Designing Certification and Accreditation Programs. The Association Educator’s Toolkit. Washington, DC: ASAE, 2000.

STC Certification Task Force. STC Certification Drivers. 24 June 2009.