Knowledge or experience?
But what about the second issue? What do certificates verify? Theoretical knowledge or practical experience? Well, this question actually depends on the type of certificate!
Any certificate that only consists of a multiple-choice test merely requests theoretical knowledge. The boards, of course, try to create exam questions that can be answered with practical experience only, but that is very difficult with the multiple-choice pattern.
Certificates that fall into this category usually carry the label “Foundation Level”. The Foundation Level is explicitly advertised by the providers as a basic certificate [FGG10]. The examinee masters a field’s basic concepts afterwards. These basic terms can be learned, their meaning can be explained to the examinee. After the exam or training course, the examinee speaks the language of this domain.
Certificates that build on the “Foundation Level” usually go beyond a pure multiple-choice test. These certificates often carry the addition “Advanced Level”, and sometimes “Professional” or “Master”. For these advanced certificates you have to demonstrate practical experience in some way.
For some certificates you must provide testimonials from your employers for projects that fit the topic of the certificate: e.g., 18 months of testing tasks in projects, or 18 months of project management or subproject management.
Some other advanced certificates include an oral examination in addition to the multiple-choice test. In some cases, there is no training course in the traditional sense, but an attempt is made to simulate a kind of project situation in which the participants work together in the respective field.
Then there are some certificates that come with the unpleasant feature of having to be renewed regularly every three or five years. Either the exam must be taken again, or the examinees have to collect credit points that prove certain activities in the certified domain: Conference attendance, presentations, lectures, article publications. This ensures that the examinees’ experience does not become obsolete.
As far as the question of knowledge and experience is concerned, we note that the basic certificate, the Foundation Level, resembles a theoretical driving test. The theory, i.e., the conceptualization and the rules, are mastered, but there is no practical experience. In this respect, the basic certificates should always be taken for what they are: Theoretical knowledge that must be acquired in order to complete advanced certificates.