The Microsoft IT Academy Program is designed to help you deliver the education students need to achieve their career goals. Educators use the program to provide students with the 21st century technology skills necessary to acquire certification and be competitive in today’s rapidly evolving workplace. The program offers learning opportunities anytime, anywhere for students, educators, and staff.
With Microsoft IT Academy resources, you can help students choose a career path and then plan your curriculum to give them the training and guidance they need to achieve their goals.
Here’s how to guide your students through the process of choosing a career path, learning the appropriate skills required for the career they’ve chosen, and validating their technical proficiency with a Microsoft Certification.
Encourage students to begin by choosing a career path. By using the career roadmap tool, students can peruse job roles and their related duties, and learn which skills and certifications are necessary to land the job.
Use the IT Academy program to assemble the tools you need to teach students the skills they need to achieve their goals. We offer a variety of resources to help you teach technology courses, from ready-to-use lesson plans to Microsoft curriculum and E-Learning.
Help students validate their new skills and expertise by integrating Microsoft Certification into your curriculum. This credential gives employers a reliable indication of a candidate’s technical proficiency and skills.
Important Some certifications for the IT professional and developer paths have recently changed. Although the changes are not yet reflected in this roadmap tool (we are in the process of updating it), see the Microsoft Certification Overview for the latest IT professional and developer certification information.
Visit Microsoft Certification Overview
Adding a Microsoft Certification to your resume provides employers with validation of your skills, your commitment to advancing your career, and your willingness to take on greater challenges. The interactive tool below helps walk you through three different career paths and the Microsoft Certifications and exams that help get you there:
Business professional
IT professional
Developer
Explore the interactive visual below, built with Silverlight, to see where certification fits into your career path.
Click an area of the visual that you’re interested in, and it automatically zooms in to show the exams required or recommended to receive the Microsoft Certification.
When you point to the visual, you’ll see three icons in the bottom left corner. Click + to zoom in closer, click - to zoom back out, or click the home icon to return to normal view.
If you use a mouse, you may use the scrolling wheel to zoom in and out.
You can use the Microsoft IT Academy program to tailor education offerings suitable for your particular institution. By taking exams and becoming certified, students earn tangible validation of their skills, assuring prospective employers they’re ready for today’s workforce.
Primary and high schools: The curriculum for younger students spans several levels, from learning how to use computers to developing skills with Microsoft Office. More advanced students can develop skills that qualify them for certification as Microsoft Office Specialists or as Microsoft Technology Associates.
Two-year schools: Designed for two-year colleges, community colleges, vocational, technical, and preparatory institutions, this curriculum builds knowledge and experience in productivity tools and other technology applications that students will encounter on the job.
Four-year schools: Designed for higher education institutions and universities, this curriculum provides an excellent foundation for career advancement in technology and other fields.
Certifications appropriate for all institutions:
Microsoft Office Specialist certification demonstrates that an individual is proficient in the Microsoft Office suite and has the most up-to-date skills. Becoming a Microsoft Office Specialist helps increase everyday productivity while providing the tools to succeed in a technology-driven world.
Microsoft Technology Associate certification is an optional entry-level credential from Microsoft that validates students' knowledge of technology concepts. This is a critical first step toward building a successful career in technology or in a variety of other career paths.
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist certification demonstrates a high level of technology commitment to successfully implement, build on, troubleshoot, and debug a particular Microsoft technology, such as a Windows operating system. This proficiency demonstrates a comprehensive set of skills focused on advancing IT knowledge and taking on greater job challenges.
Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate certification validates the core platform skills needed in an IT environment, whether in the cloud or on premise. It is a prerequisite to achieving our flagship Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) certification.
Certifications appropriate for four-year schools:
Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) certification helps distinguish an individual as a professional with a comprehensive set of IT skills that effectively work with Microsoft technologies. The skills are necessary to perform a particular job role, such as database administrator or enterprise messaging administrator.
Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) is Microsoft’s flagship certification for experienced professionals who want to lead their IT organization’s journey to the cloud. These certifications recognize IT pros and developers with broad and deep skill sets across Microsoft solutions and technologies.
Watch a demo to understand the certification process.
See success in action with videos and case studies direct from the educators and students in the Microsoft IT Academy Program.
Enhance your professional development with resources for educators and staff.
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2010 Microsoft Certified Professional Program Satisfaction Study
91% of hiring managers consider employee certification as a criterion for hiring.
81% of hiring managers feel that certified individuals perform better.
79% of hiring managers feel that certified individuals are more efficient.
2009 Certiport Survey
89% of supervisors say that Microsoft Office certified employees are more proficient users of Microsoft Office programs.
Start the conversation with students now by downloading these posters to promote training and certification benefits at your academic institution.
Download the Connect poster
Download the Learn poster
