Red Hat Computer Certification Methods

Eleven years ago, Red Hat was growing rapidly and selling services related to their open-source Linux software. They developed a strategy to inspire confidence that Red Hat Linux was a legitimate alternative to proprietary operating systems with a Red Hat certification program that would increase the ranks of certified professionals who could do much more than just pass a test. They had to really know how to support their IT and business environments.

The Red Hat staff designed a testing program that combined performance based activities and multiple choice questions. After several years they hired a psychometrician to validate the exam design and suggest modifications to ensure that they measured what Red Hat engineers actually perform on the job. As a result they changed testing to be 100% performance based, this meant no questions that could be answered through rote memorization.

After eleven years, there are now nearly 80,000 Red Hat certified professionals with 12,000 added per year, even in 2009's tough economy. Because such care was put into the quality of the tests, the reputation and brand recognition of the program has helped differentiate their program.

Finally, as a bonus, the company sees a correlation between certifying more people and actually selling more Red Hat product.

To address the cloud computing trend, this IT certification outreach program now includes a 'Red Hat Certified Virtualization Administrator' (RHCVA) exam, which is for administrators who manage and deploy virtual hosts.

Learn more about this IT certification at Red Hat Certified Virtualization Administrator - RHCVA"