Is a new A+ Cert needed to train?

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#2
Bert313 said:
Greetings Ciners,

I am considering hiring an A+ instructor. He received his cert back in 1999 but has other IT exoerience. . Does he need to take the course again or is the TTT sufficient?

Thanks.
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Can he prove his knowledge & Experience and teaching ability? 24 years ago is a HUGE differnence when were talking how much has changed in IT
 
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#3
A certification is a formal declaration that you have met or exceeded a minimum standard of knowledge on a subject on a particular exam day. It doesn't mean that you will retain the information forever, nor that you will update your knowledge after receiving the certification.

I have an A+ from 2005. Officially, it is a "good for life" certification that I am not required to update. But a lot has changed since then. I tested on DOS, Windows 9x, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. We're up to Windows 10 and 11. Virtualization, the cloud, and IoT devices weren't on the exam back then, but they are now. I have passed three other versions of A+ since then.

Do I possess the knowledge to teach A+ for the current version of the exam? There is no guarantee. A lot of the information from the previous exams will still be valid but some of it has changed or is brand new. I'd have to study to make sure my knowledge is current enough to teach the current objectives.

An A+ cert by itself doesn't tell you if someone is sufficient to teach a course. You'll need more information to determine if the instructor is ready to teach the current version.
 
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#4
Bert313 said:
Greetings Ciners,

I am considering hiring an A+ instructor. He received his cert back in 1999 but has other IT exoerience. . Does he need to take the course again or is the TTT sufficient?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

A+ cert prior to 2010 was deemed "good for life" back then.
Although, an updated cert would be nice...

The better questions I suppose are:
- can they teach?
- are they up-to-date with the current content of the core 1 (1101) and core 2 (1102)?
- can they facilitate a class to do the labs?

I've met trainers who had the older certs but they are very up-to-date with the current tech trends, and are really competent in teaching. If this is the case, then the trainer should be good for a class.

Yet, there are some who got their PHDs and certs yet have not had the experience of installing a PC or even an operating system from scratch. Yikes!

So, yeah. The point is - paper certs should not be the only basis for hiring.
Just my two cents.
 
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#6
I agree with the above but keep in mind that having the A+ cert says nothing whatsoever about being able to teach it. Many times the best person to explain something to a confused student is another student who just learned the concept and still remembers what it was like before understanding and can help get them over the wall. HS teachers usually get a teaching cert but it often has little if any technical training beyond classroom tools. Most college instructors get no training at all. As someone who graduated with a a computer science degree around 2000, I had no issues passing the last 2 versions of the A+ since a lot of the new info is due to CS concepts becoming more general knowledge today whereas back then it was considered quite specialized.
Attending TTT sessions is helpful for knowing what info is still on or removed from the exam and our last A+ one had a ton of practical teaching advi e, but despite the title, completing the TTT sessions does not certify that you can teach anything. It only certifies that you attended the sessions. There is/was a CTT+ trainer certification but it won't be obtainable after September 2023 and not many instructors have it. I suggest asking for a sample lesson plan an a short (20-30 min max) video of them teaching in the mode you need (in person or online) or ask/offer to schedule a short real time or live sample lesson so you can evaluate their teaching suitability for your needs.
 
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#7
Esther S. Stepansky said:
I agree with the above but keep in mind that having the A+ cert says nothing whatsoever about being able to teach it.
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This is a key point that opens into a new area of discussion. Not everyone who is technically proficient is able to teach; that is a completely separate competency. Teaching involves being able to impart knowledge to another person - seeing the blocks and negotiating around them. I have seen so many folks in the classroom that are techie, but their teaching skill is substandard.
 
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#9
Gregory Childers said:
A certification is a formal declaration that you have met or exceeded a minimum standard of knowledge on a subject on a particular exam day. It doesn't mean that you will retain the information forever, nor that you will update your knowledge after receiving the certification.

I have an A+ from 2005. Officially, it is a "good for life" certification that I am not required to update. But a lot has changed since then. I tested on DOS, Windows 9x, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. We're up to Windows 10 and 11. Virtualization, the cloud, and IoT devices weren't on the exam back then, but they are now. I have passed three other versions of A+ since then.

Do I possess the knowledge to teach A+ for the current version of the exam? There is no guarantee. A lot of the information from the previous exams will still be valid but some of it has changed or is brand new. I'd have to study to make sure my knowledge is current enough to teach the current objectives.

An A+ cert by itself doesn't tell you if someone is sufficient to teach a course. You'll need more information to determine if the instructor is ready to teach the current version.
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Thanks, he's been in the industry for a while, so I think he would do well just compelting the TTT
 
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#12
jlyon said:
I recently Landed a Role as a Adjunct A+ Instructor and my Original A+ is from 2000, I went ahead and sat the 1101 & 1102 so I can better prepare folks on the material being tested.
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I took those last year when I was trying to do an "up-the-ladder" sprint. Got sidetracked on that, but it was good to do those again. Good tests, even for experienced professionals.
 
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#13
Another factor is...can the teacher present the content in a form the students can digest? I've seen some teachers both in person and online who speak so fast they lose students. The students report the instructor was talking over their heads or talking too fast to be understood. Just another factor when evaluating teaching candidates. :oops:
 
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#14
Bert313 said:
Greetings Ciners,

I am considering hiring an A+ instructor. He received his cert back in 1999 but has other IT exoerience. . Does he need to take the course again or is the TTT sufficient?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
No as long as they are knowledgeable and understand the material they are teaching is the simple answer. I take in to consideration might have other certs and/or degrees. Could also have the do a demo teach and see how they preform. I have had to do this Infront of co-workers and actual students.
 
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#15
Bert313 said:
Greetings Ciners,

I am considering hiring an A+ instructor. He received his cert back in 1999 but has other IT exoerience. . Does he need to take the course again or is the TTT sufficient?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I am of the mind that I won't teach what I haven't taken. So, I won't teach a version of the exam that I have not taken. I want to be able to tell the students "When I took the exam", "In the previous version of the exam", etc. How to take the exam has changed, just being familiar with the requirements to schedule the exam or what to expect at the testing center is helpful for students. It is more than work experience or the knowledge of the concepts, it is the experience of the testing as well.
 
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#16
Bert313 said:
I am considering hiring an A+ instructor. He received his cert back in 1999 but has other IT exoerience. . Does he need to take the course again or is the TTT sufficient?
Click to expand...
I know this is a necrobump, but A+ has changed quite a bit since 1999...

Would I ask a prospective instructor to take the entire course again? absolutely not! In fact, if an employer told me to take an entire A+ course, just to teach a course for that employer, I'd tell them thanks but no thanks, and withdraw my application.

the TTT would be nice, but that wouldn't be something I mandated... but it should be in the resources I profile him)

What I would do is require any new instructor to hold a current cert for the course they are going to teach (and GFL and ce certs are not the same). I'd provide the voucher so he wouldn't have to buy it himself, but no one should be teaching a course unless they have passed that exam. When I started in my current role, my director told me I needed to take the ITF exam to teach the course. I have ~20 years in IT... and passed the exam

here is my perspective: if he has 20 years of experience, and he is up to date on his knowledge, then he should have no issues passing the exam.

If he can't, do I really want him teaching a course for an exam that he couldn't pass?
 
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#17
Dan said:
I know this is a necrobump, but A+ has changed quite a bit since 1999...

Would I ask a prospective instructor to take the entire course again? absolutely not! In fact, if an employer told me to take an entire A+ course, just to teach a course for that employer, I'd tell them thanks but no thanks, and withdraw my application.

the TTT would be nice, but that wouldn't be something I mandated... but it should be in the resources I profile him)

What I would do is require any new instructor to hold a current cert for the course they are going to teach (and GFL and ce certs are not the same). I'd provide the voucher so he wouldn't have to buy it himself, but no one should be teaching a course unless they have passed that exam. When I started in my current role, my director told me I needed to take the ITF exam to teach the course. I have ~20 years in IT... and passed the exam

here is my perspective: if he has 20 years of experience, and he is up to date on his knowledge, then he should have no issues passing the exam.

If he can't, do I really want him teaching a course for an exam that he couldn't pass?
Click to expand...

Sounds like a company I was working for. They make you take ever cert over and over again and try to make the Train-the-Train mandatory which is why I pretty much left. Cost to much to get and they started going down hill anyway so I look for companies that accept me for what I can do for students.
 
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