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January 2001 Issue

SCTE Message: Certification Relevancy
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Certification programs exist to standardize benchmarks of learning and ability within a given industry or discipline. For these programs to be meaningful, they must be specific for job categories or functions.

For instance, how valuable would a certification program be for a surgeon if its content dealt solely with first aid? While this may be an extreme example, it illustrates that certification content must be relevant to the job .

The Training Committee of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) recently gathered representatives from the cable telecommunications industry to focus on this issue of relevancy. The group met during a two-day summit to review all of SCTE’s certifications and compare them to the evolution of job descriptions. With the recent addition of digital video, high-speed data and voice services over new, two-way hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) plant, industry professionals are required to master new skills to meet the demands of changing technologies.

SCTE wants members to be ready for these new challenges. Drafts of possible industry job-description changes—based on a peer review process—have been discussed, but it’s important they are reflective of the industry.

The Training Committee wants to ensure SCTE’s certification programs continue to serve the needs of its members as well as those of the cable telecommunications industry. To that end, it needs your help. Tell us how your job has changed in the last few years. What areas of the plant and system operations are you responsible for, and to what extent? The answers to these questions are invaluable in helping guide the committee as it considers revisions to the certification programs and are crucial in helping direct the development of content for those programs.

Whether you are a technician, engineer, operator or a non-technical member of the cable telecommunications community, your participation is extremely valuable to the committee and this process. You can help shape the future of certification by sharing your experiences, thoughts and input with SCTE. Please take a few minutes to fill out a brief survey regarding your current job responsibilities. This survey is available online at www.scte.org. The committee would also like to hear your suggestions. E-mail your comments to .

Marv Nelson is SCTE’s vice president for technical programs. He may be reached at .

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