CompTIA Blog

CompTIA has introduced CompTIA Mobility+, a new industry-built, internationally-recognized skills certification for the fast-growing arena of mobile technologies.

A security breach in this constantly connected world can mean anything from being inconvenienced to being extorted — and for businesses that don’t properly secure their networks it can mean massive losses in profits and time. At a time when it’s harder than ever to find highly skilled IT security staff, CompTIA’s 11th Annual Information Security Trends study shows data breaches cropping up with growing frequency, and recovery taking longer than ever before.

Whether just starting out in the field or trying to get back into the game after a long absence, certification is a critical differentiator for IT professionals looking to move their careers forward. Having effective study tools is key for IT professionals looking to pass their certification exams. Four IT workers, all at very different points in their professional lives, found that CertMaster not only helped them study to pass an exam, but helped them retain practical knowledge that may come in handy in their careers to come.

It’s not enough for today’s IT professionals to be talented and focused. With security, mobility and evolution changing the way we use tech every day, it’s essential that IT professionals grow their skills in line with current technology trends. The best candidates will be those who take pride in continuing their IT education and, as a result, meet future industry demands.

When a teacher’s computer goes down in a Doss High School classroom, it isn’t the school’s tech support person who shows up to fix it. Rather, it’s one of the students in technology coordinator J.R. Drummond’s help desk class, putting into practice in the field everything they’re learning in the classroom.

In order to address regional differences, CompTIA has created geographic channel communities. These regional peer-led groups help connect channel players, allowing them to share ideas and best practices, and giving them access to a vast collection of association resources.

It has been a busy July for education reform. In the most significant re-write in 14 years, the Senate passed an update to the Education and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, also known as “No Child Left Behind”) with bipartisan support.

Congress has bandied about reforming the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) for years, but there’s suddenly momentum to get something done in 2015. The Email Privacy Act (H.R. 699) introduced by Congressmen Kevin Yoder (R-KS) and Jared Polis (D-CO) in February currently has 287 cosponsors, the second highest total of any bill in the House.

Any good employer knows that the secret to their success is not their product or service, but their people. Finding the right people and ensuring you get the best of them, however, can be a challenge. As such, CompTIA geared its recent UK Channel Community Meeting in Birmingham entirely around IT skills.

CompTIA’s UK Channel Community meeting in Birmingham on the 23rd and 24th June brought together the finest minds from business, academia and government to help Britain’s IT community address one of the most pressing industry issues today; how to recruit and retain talent.

CompTIA hosted a tech forum for Illinois state legislators at the Museum of Science and Industry last Monday, July 13. The hour session focused on economic development around the industry as well as the pipeline of talent entering the workforce. Guest speaker Gretchen Koch, Executive Director of Workforce Development Strategies at the Creating IT Futures Fund, put education and workforce issues in perspective for legislators, noting that the Chicago metro is 4th in the nation with open IT jobs.

Can’t join us for ChannelCon 2015 in Chicago? You’re in luck. Now you can reap the benefits of ChannelCon attendance from the comfort of your own office or home with ChannelCon Online.

Thank you to the 159 people who attended our UK Channel Community meeting last month! The day was packed full of information regarding recruiting and retaining the right people. Keeping with that theme of recruitment, our Workforce Development Team has been working to inform students, parents and educators about the fantastic opportunities within the IT industry via several initiatives.

In today’s highly competitive ICT services environment, prospective clients need to know your company can provide dependable and effective support. Before they pay for services, businesses will want to be certain that their provider has the appropriate skills, tools and aptitude to maintain and protect their systems. That confirmation is crucial, but it is not always easy to prove.

Growing up in a working-class family in Smalltown, Iowa — as he calls it — William Krajicek Jr. found satisfaction working with his hands. But he found a career through IT-Ready and CompTIA A+.