Transcript 2009 WCET Certification Program Promotion Plan

WCET Certification Program
- 2009
As presented at
IEEE WCNC 2009
Celia Desmond
IEEE Certification WCET
• Practical exam for professionals with strong technical
knowledge in wireless
– Degree plus 3 years working experience required to be
accepted to write the exam
• Value for professionals in wireless field – an
interesting challenge to test themselves, an indicator
of their ability to employer, potential employers
• Value for companies – filtering job applicants, benefit
to offer to good employees
Comments
“Very happy with the examination procedure….harder than I expected…. the WCP
Certification greatly helps to communicate my capabilities to others; very important
these days with so many engineers competing for so few opportunities. Equally as
important, preparing for and maintaining the certification has been great for my
continuing education and broadening my background. The certification procedure also
helps me to understand my strengths and weaknesses in the field.” Chris Barroso
“Started a consulting practice in wireless communications, specializing in point to point
connections….I felt that this certification would give me some additional credibility with
my clients.” Tom Lavrisa
“This exam truly tested the broader understanding of the wireless engineering
profession….given me immense satisfaction and an objective assessment of the
knowledge gained over the years. More importantly, I look forward to the comments on
the areas where I have not performed well. This will help me understand where there is
a gap in my understanding and endeavour to plug this gap.” Sivan Ramachandran
Comments
“Anyone who obtains the WCET certification will have a deep understanding of the core
principles for a wide range of wireless communication technologies….helps my career
as a Consulting Engineer at Cisco by distinguishing me as someone who is a wireless
expert and sets me apart from others who claim some level of wireless expertise. The
WCET certification is valuable to my career as a means to certify to my customer’s that
they are being advised by a certified wireless engineer. I consult to hundreds of
customers annually, the WCET certification will help my Customers evaluate my
expertise level in the wireless communications field and trust the services I provide.”
Jeff Smith
“I believe this certificate will be strong argument in my personal struggle for a new dream
job position.” Dmitry Maskou
“I manage a team of engineers…I would likely use questions such as those posed in the
WCET to filter out candidates….when the test becomes widely available, I would make
hiring decisions based, at least in part, on WCET results.” Subramanian Vasudevan
Top Reasons for Certification
1. WCP credential holders have demonstrated their knowledge of wireless engineering
technology concepts and terminology. To obtain the WCP credential, candidates must
pass a rigorous examination based on the validated body of knowledge underlying the
tasks performed in the industry.
2. WCP credential holders are applied practitioners. Credential holders are tested not
only on their knowledge of wireless communication engineering technology and
practice, but also on their skills using that knowledge to perform and to develop and
implement high-quality deliverables.
3. WCP credential holders have successfully responded to a significant challenge. They
have demonstrated both depth and breadth in their wireless communications
engineering knowledge.
4. Organizations can retain employees by investing in them. Supporting the WCP
credential and WCP credential holders demonstrates a real commitment to them; in
turn, WCP credential holders will demonstrate a commitment to you.
5. Your support for the WCP credential makes a powerful statement to customers about
the caliber of your people and your commitment to global best-practices. The IEEE
WCP certification is both transnational and vendor neutral; the required examination
that each WCP credential holder has passed reflects the work requirements of
professionals around the globe.
Core Team Members
First Team Member Rotation Completed Dec 2008
Industry Advisory Board
Involvement of IAB
• The Industry Advisory Board is committed to an active role in
promoting WCET -- Some Examples
– Adam Drobot (Telcordia, USA)
• Will pay for any employee sitting for exam
• Assigned head of Telcordia’s Wireless Systems & Networks department to
recruit identify volunteers
– Fadel Digham (National Telecom Regulatory Authority, Egypt)
• Contacting local HR managers, approaching vendors, promoting WCET at
conferences
• Personally contacted candidate to complete application
– Bob Fonow (TrivonAG, Swiss-based Telcom Holding Co.)
• Recruiting candidates from Trivon holdings in Russia/E. Europe
• Promoting WCET in Asia, strong contacts as a part time resident of Beijing
– Arun Pande (Tata Consulting Services, India)
• Personally contacted ALL candidates with incomplete applications in India
IEEE Communications Society
WCET Certification
• 2009 Spring exam window:
16 Mar – 4 April
• New 2009 68-page Candidate’s Handbook
available; 5,500+ pdf and print copies of
1st Handbook distributed (+2009 ~1,200;
650 pdf/550 print)
• New WCET WWW site; 5,700+ visitors
in 3rd quarter
• Bi-monthly IEEE Wireless Communications
Professional e-newsletter
• Webinar – see www for link
• Extensive exhibit schedule; PR campaign
• Advertising and Direct Mail campaigns
• Draft pdf WEBOK available



Bimonthly news service
Designed to help manage career tactics
Provides up-to-date information on the wireless industry
including corporate & industry news related to:
• Mergers
To read the premier issue, visit www.ieee-wcet.org
and click on “Newsletter”
• Standards
• Patents & new product development
• Hiring policies
To sign up, send an email to
[email protected]
• Government regulations
Consider…
Becoming certified
Or
Providing training for those who want to
become certified