Preparing for Certification?

You’ve been in the training and development field for several years now. You are intimately familiar with adult learning theory, Mr. Maslow and his hierarchy, and the taxonomy of Bloom. Or at least you know how to use the principles, even if you may not be able to identify them.

You are in the same position as I was in 2006 when I first heard about ASTD’s new CPLP certification. CPLP stands for Certified Professional in Learning and Performance.  Just like you, I had been in the T&D field for numerous years and had been doing the work that is described in the certification outline. So, why bother to become certified?

I believe this to be a very personal decision, and I gladly share with you my reasoning.

I have been working on completing my bachelor’s degree for more than 20 years. You know the deal – working parent, barely time to sleep, no time for class – many of you can relate. In the last few years I have felt my lack of degree has become a barrier to moving on to the next level in my career. So, while I am currently three-quarters of the way through my degree and will be done with it by this time next year (hooray!), I felt the CPLP certification would give me some validation now that I am indeed a competent training professional.

I am proud to be the second person in Oregon to have achieved this certification, and encourage you to pursue it if you consider it to be valuable. If indeed you are planning to take the exam in the one of the upcoming testing windows, you’ll want to begin preparing now. As you do so, I’m happy to be a resource for you – sometimes it can really help to bounce ideas off of someone who has been there!