Hugh Lashbrooke 12:32 am on July 11, 2022

Exploring WordPress Certifications

Over the years, there have been a few discussions about creating formalised certifications for WordPress, most notably in 2013 as seen on Torque and WP Tavern. While those discussions are nearly 10 years old, they are still relevant and, now that an open learning platform for WordPress exists, this is a good time to revisit those conversations.

Before we get anywhere near implementation, let’s take a step back and gather some initial thoughts on how a WordPress certification should be approached. Certifying open-source software has some inherent challenges, but also some wonderful advantages. With that in mind here is some interesting content to review:

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Since this is an exploratory post and not a proposal for anything concrete, please comment with your answers to the questions below, as well as any other thoughts you have about this topic:

What benefits would certifications provide?
What would be some effective ways to use certifications in the WordPress space?
What potential pitfalls need to be kept in mind, should we proceed?

Fernando Tellado 6:02 pm on July 11, 2022
Nice try 🙂

Based on the other certificate programs, the main issue I see in a certification process is that, the certification process, because it could be a long and challenging task, full of criticism, disgusting answers to declined certifications, the criteria followed, etc, etc, etc.

I’m a true defender of WP Certifications but is a long and difficult road to achieve something that:
- Everybody (almost) agrees on the levels/certificates to offer
- No certificate collides with official/other ones
- Everybody (almost) agrees on the approval criteria for every level/certificate/etc.
- Who can/should be in the approval board
- Which would be the approval process
- How many time last the certificates
- When the certificates should be renovated
and a long list that I don’t have enough time right now to write (apologies)

And the main challenge: mandatory transparency to achieve the community’s approval for the process.
Dan Soschin 8:59 pm on July 11, 2022

What benefits would certifications provide?
1. Help folks who have devoted time/energy learning WordPress (which helps keep the project alive) demonstrate their expertise. This helps them remain competitive in the marketplace and brings WordPress on par with other platforms that have certification programs. It’s a bit of a reward system too.

2. Helps promote WordPress. By enabling folks to advertise on their resume and digital platforms (e.g. LinkedIn) that they are certified in a specific WordPress skill (perhaps with a badge), more and more people will be exposed to the WordPress name/brand/platform, amplifying the brand… this will help with the longevity and visibility of the platform.

3. As more and more people list their WordPress certifications, employers will notice these, as well as people unfamiliar with WordPress, helping further improve the visibility of the platform.

4. Certifications may help differentiate WP from proprietary platforms, giving agencies and developers more tools to demonstrate their proficiency.

What would be some effective ways to use certifications in the WordPress space?
5. Profiles in .org
6. Potential networking with others in the community
7. Finding work related to WordPress
8. Speaking at events or organizing events
9. Contributing

What potential pitfalls need to be kept in mind, should we proceed?
10. There are probably many… but with the best programs, starting small and thinking big… I’m sure we can find a path forward that is marked as experimental and collaborative to explore the efficacy and receptivity of such a program before going “all in”.
Nicholas Garofalo 5:24 pm on July 13, 2022

Thanks for starting this exploration @hlashbrooke!

What benefits would certifications provide?

I’m not someone who personally places much value on certifications, and when hiring for my agency we never paid attention to these. I have however worked with several companies and technical staffing agencies that hire hundreds of people, and they need a quick way to qualify candidates. Right now, many use some basic technical or PHPPHP PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. http://php.net/manual/en/intro-whatis.php. exams, which are poor stand-ins for testing WordPress knowledge. Certifications would be a huge help here.

What would be some effective ways to use certifications in the WordPress space?

I think that certifications are an opportunity for a more inclusive WordPress ecosystem. They would allow people new to the ecosystem a chance to easily show their ability and get hired.

What potential pitfalls need to be kept in mind, should we proceed?

When we’re talking about certifications, I think that we should avoid hyperbolic language that insinuates that everyone should clamor to be certified. If you’re a 10-year veteran in the industry, contributor to coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress., then certification probably isn’t going to be super helpful. I also don’t think that every employer should start hiring only certified WordPress developers. Certifications are simply one tool for employers and candidates.
Amit Patel 12:32 pm on July 14, 2022

Thanks @hlashbrooke

Below are my thoughts

What benefits would certifications provide?
A benchmark to identify potential in certain WordPress techniques. WordPress has definitely proved to be one of the crucial platforms for web development, This can serve to be global identification worldwide. And it will definitely increase engagements.

What would be some effective ways to use certifications in the WordPress space?
Proving their ability and skills in WordPress.
Inspiring newcomers and technocrats to improve the scope of their skills.
Definitely WordPress as a Platform will get deserved Identification.

What potential pitfalls need to be kept in mind, should we proceed?
Being said, one should not only depend on certification to judge or evaluate talent, because there would be exceptional cases for genius even without certification.
Kemmy99 1:41 pm on July 14, 2022

Certification has its pros and cons. Your expertise should be a determinate factor to whether you are capable of doing the job.
To give a certificate, i think breaking it down to levels or stages will go a long way to back up any claims of your expertise.
We can have:
1. Beginners certification
2. Intermediate
3. Experienced
By doing that, when anyone is flashing their certificate, it would be based on their level of competence.
The certificate can be inform of badges that can be used on their social media accounts. The curriculum can be structured in such a way that when giving a badge, then you must be deserving of it. You must have worked very hard to earn the badge. Meaning the curriculum will not come easy and you can not move to the next stage without passing the last stage.
The certificate in the long run will also help to promote WordPress in some countries especially in Africa.
Courtney Robertson 4:00 am on July 15, 2022

What benefits would certifications provide?

For the learner seeking to get started or level up, benchmarks of what would be related to various job roles and seniority would be invaluable. Certifications certainly are not mandatory, but in having them, it creates a suggestion of what skills match job roles and seniority levels. It gives those just entering the the profession a well defined path of what to learn.

Without that, training programs are not incorporating WordPress into their programs, or not providing the adequate training matched with the expected outcomes.

What would be some effective ways to use certifications in the WordPress space?

An official source of learning and proficiency and a standard by which to assess that an applicant possesses the skills they believe they do.

What potential pitfalls need to be kept in mind, should we proceed?

The informal community has had wildly different opinions in the past that stalled any further efforts for almost 8 years. Considerable concern has been expressed previously about who would enforce these certifications remaining current, or even questioning needing them at all.

Additional discussions were held about who would be creating these certifications. At the time, many looked at how Drupal certifications were primarily created by Acquia. Questions about Automattic creating certifications was connected to this.

Pathway forward, together:

To achieve success, a thorough round of interviewing and listening to the community is of the utmost importance.

To do that, the training team will begin with an individual learner survey.

Next, the team will conduct a needs analysis related to the content on Learn better serving learners.

From this, perhaps a curriculum advisory board could form to routinely adjust offerings on LearnWP.

I believe a phased approach of introducing 2 or 3 introductory types of certification could happen after this.
Valentin 7:11 pm on July 15, 2022

What benefits would certifications provide?
It could be used to make it clear that someone has properly understood the concept of WP and its ecosystem, rather than just using it as a substructure for short-lived page-bulider sites.

Whereby I must admit that the latter also applied to me for a long time😅.
alexstine 2:22 am on July 16, 2022

Here are my thoughts.

What benefits would certifications provide?
For people like me who completed a little technical college or even no higher education, certifications could prove invaluable to helping you land a job. Employers want a certain level of proof you know something. The best part is, if done right, certifications can also be accessible to all unlike other means of determining qualifications.

What potential pitfalls need to be kept in mind, should we proceed?
The number one thing that comes to mind is ensuring WordPress does not end up taking a similar path to the Linux Foundation. I think it has been nearly five years since I started fighting for Linux Foundation certification accommodations and still have not received the curtsy of a reply. Please, help us all if WordPress turns in to that sick mess.

Of course others will always disagree but that is what the community is about. Representing all ideas.

Hope to see this become the way of the future.
Wes Theron 10:46 pm on July 24, 2022

What benefits would certifications provide?

It will be free and allow people of various socio-economic backgrounds to gain access to certifications.

It will be a 1-stop for folks trying to start or build a career with WordPress.

The courses can be aligned with what is expected from an employer.

What would be some effective ways to use certifications in the WordPress space?

It will allow people to build their CV, experience and hopefully land a job.

What potential pitfalls need to be kept in mind, should we proceed?

Do we have enough people and resources to get it off the ground and keep it afloat?
Destiny Kanno 3:56 am on August 18, 2022

I think folks have already raised some great points for the first two questions, so my thoughts are focused on the last one.

What potential pitfalls need to be kept in mind, should we proceed?

Certifications don’t necessarily ensure folks have a practical understanding of the topic. I think that real-world application is key versus reading and testing well through a course.

I think it’s worth considering creating pathways for students to apply what they learn as a final step to earning certification to ensure the learned content has been absorbed, and also give folks and outlet to give back to WordPress.

For example if I’m certified in making BlockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. Themes, maybe I should submit my own Block Themes to the .org Themes repository, or put on an Online Workshop on creating Block Themes to finalize my certification.
Benjamin Evans 5:03 am on January 10, 2023

I’m leaving a link here to a related article which was shared in the team’s SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. channel: https://thewpminute.com/should-wordpress-have-a-certification-program/
Benjamin Evans 3:20 am on January 16, 2023

Dropping another related link shared in the team’s SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. channel: https://tommcfarlin.com/wordpress-certifications-in-2023/
Benjamin Evans 4:46 am on January 16, 2023

Dropping another related link brought up in the team’s SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. channel: https://publishing-project.rivendellweb.net/thoughts-on-certifications/
Courtney Robertson 8:16 pm on February 3, 2023

From @clorith https://clorith.net/certifications-in-the-wordpress-ecosystems-are-not-necessarily-a-good-idea/
Ugyen Dorji 7:05 am on March 12, 2024

Greetings to all Training folks here, hope everyone who attended WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Asia 2024 has reached back home safe and sound. During WordCamp Asia 2024, something clicks in my mind to share my feedback with the Training team regarding Learn WordPress
I adore the way Yoast Academy presents users to encourage newbies to explore WordPress and Learn WordPress by completing with a certificate.
What if Learn WordPress could follow the same footprints with an e-Certificate once we complete the course in Learn WordPress one should earn an e-certificate after successfully attending so and so dates with respective courses from Learn WordPress and It would encourage every educator in government to recommend to add it to their extracurricular activities in each respective schools around the globe.
- Benjamin Evans 9:09 am on March 16, 2024
  
  Thanks for sharing your idea here, @ugyensupport . The team has definitely considered certifications in the past. The team is currently focusing on relaunching Learn WordPress with a focus on Learning Pathways. Once the site has relaunched, we should have a better platform to then revisit this conversation and see what the team’s next steps might be.
  
  For the moment, the Sensei pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party will email learners a completion mail when they complete a course. The fact someone has completed a course is also listed on their public WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ profile.
  - Ugyen Dorji 1:24 pm on July 8, 2024
    
    I just finished listening to the latest WordPress Learning Pathway podcast. It looks like we’re about to start a new learning journey with an improved user experience and a fresh design. I’m excited about the possibility of an e-certificate, as it would recognize the time and effort that WordPress users put into learning and enhancing their skills on the platform.
abdo120 2:57 pm on July 14, 2024

Is a certificate issued after completing the course that I can share on linkedin or share it anywhere else?

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Exploring WordPress Certifications

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