The State of the Certification Program
By Charles E. Bolyard, Jr., CFCC PSP FAACE Hon. Life
Certification Board Chair
AACE’s certification program has continued in a robust manner, even during the COVID pandemic that impacted much of 2020. The graphics which follow provide a dashboard view of the certification program as AACE closed 2020. We use the word “certificant” to identify those individuals who achieve and maintain an active AACE certification.
AACE’s Annual Conference and Exposition was virtual in 2020 and is planned as a primarily virtual event in 2021. It has been exciting to see the strong activity throughout 2020 and thus far into 2021 among the Regions and Sections who have continued to sponsor successful technical meetings and programs through virtual meeting platforms.
The fortitude of AACE’s certificants is demonstrated in the status of our certification program as presented in the following graphs.
AACE’s certificants total 4,179 globally. The most popular certifications are the Certified Cost Professional (CCP) and the Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP). These two certifications represent 72% of the total and are indicative of the strong world-wide demand for cost professionals and schedulers across a wide variety of industries.
Considering all those with active certifications, 64% are in North America. The next largest grouping of certificants is found throughout Asia, 25% of the global total. The remaining 11% are in Europe, Africa, South America, and Australia, as is represented in the graphic that follows.
AACE’s certifications are available to those who are members of AACE, as well as to individuals who are not members. The graphic that follows highlights the global distribution certificants and further identifies the percentage of certificants as members of AACE, in contrast to the percentage of certificants as non-members. AACE offers opportunities for individuals to participate as active members through local sections or virtual participation through a community section. In addition to participation as a member attending technical meetings, there are numerous opportunities for members to participate through the associate boards, subcommittees, and Special Interest Groups (SIGs).
AACE’s certification program is supported by a global network of testing centers that are available to candidates by appointment for any of the certification examinations. With 622 active testing centers sponsored through Kryterion and another 22 testing centers coming soon, AACE is continuing to meet the demand for access to its certification examinations. Another option available for candidates who may be restricted in travelling to a testing center is “On-Line Proctoring” available from AACE and facilitated by Kryterion if requested by the candidate. To qualify for on-line proctoring, a candidate must have access to devices and internet connectivity that meet the criteria explained through AACE’s website and by Kryterion. In 2020, due to the travel restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID pandemic, AACE saw its largest annual increase in demand for on-line proctoring of certification examinations.
In 2020 AACE also experienced the strongest demand for recertification in the most recent three-year period. Of 1,260 certificants with expiring certifications and eligible for recertification, 96% (1,215) successfully recertified. AACE’s technician level certifications – the Certified Cost Technician (CCT) and Certified Scheduling Technician (CST) are not eligible for recertification. These certifications are held as the pathway to the professional and expert level certifications. All other of AACE’s certifications are eligible for recertification on three-year cycles. Certificants can earn credits toward recertification through active participation in any one or more of the volunteer opportunities at the section and international levels. Publishing and presenting technical papers, participating as a section officer, or at the international level through one of the associate boards, subcommittees, Special Interest Groups and board of directors all provide opportunities for certificants to earn credits in support of recertification. Obviously, a certificant can renew a certification by taking the examination again.
With so many available opportunities the AACE Certification Board encourages non-members to become members and take advantage of the benefits of membership in AACE. For all certificants, we encourage active participation in AACE at any level to support your career development and advancement, with the added benefit of earning recertification credits.
The AACE Certification Board is continually monitoring the certification examination process, comments from candidates, and working to improve the overall quality of our certification program. One example of these continuing efforts is the recently announced enhancements to the Post-Education Professional Certification requirement for eligibility to take the CFCC examination, which added more than twenty international certifications. The enhanced listing can be found via AACE’s website and in the CFCC Certification Application & Examination Guide – 3rd Edition – 2021.
Beginning on March 24, 2021 the Certification Board is launching a series of open discussions about each of the certifications. The first is “Ask Me Anything About the PSP/CST Certification”. Those interested will be able to access the virtual discussion hosted by members of the PSP Committee of the Certification Board and offers an opportunity to discuss aspects of PSP/CST certification process. Information like this and the other open discussions can be found through AACE’s website at https://web.aacei.org/conferences-events/webinars.