Professional Certification: Who are the Winners and Losers?

• In Event: 161 - Section on Organizations, Occupation and Work Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Section on Organizations, Occupation and Work Roundtables (one-hour). Table 01. Industry Emergence and Evolution

Abstract

This paper analyzes the expansion of professional certification in the United States in recent years from the perspective of the organizations offering certifications. Why have so many organizations established certification programs in recent years? How do the motivations to establish certification vary across organizations? Whose demands are certification programs being crafted in response to? These questions are being asked with an eye toward the implications of the "certification boom" for labor market inequality. While certification can be a mechanism through which practitioners can protect and enhance their socioeconomic standing, it is not clear that this is at the top of some certifying organizations' agendas, potentially limiting certification's value for those trying to climb the socioeconomic ladder.

Author

• Kyle W. Albert, Cornell University