Industry Certifications

Overview

To encourage more students to work towards selected industry credentials or state licenses while pursuing a high school diploma, the Pathway to High School Credentialing program was developed.

A credential is defined as:

• State-issued professional license required for entry into a specific occupation as determined by a Virginia state licensing agency (Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), Cosmetology);

• Industry Certification from a recognized industry, trade, or professional association validating essential skills of a particular occupation (A+ Examinations (CompTIA), ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification (National Restaurant Association)); and/or Stackable Industry Certifications which may consist of multiple entry-level exams as a component of a suite of exams in an industry certification program leading toward full certification (ASE- Automotive Service Excellence Entry-Level Certification Tests (National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence), Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Examinations (Microsoft));

• Occupational Competency Assessment, a national standardized assessment of skills/knowledge in a specific career and/or technical area, (Architectural Drafting Assessment (NOCTI), Electrical Level One Assessment (National Center for Construction Education & Research (NCCER));

• Workplace Readiness Skills (WRS) for the Commonwealth Certification (Career and Technical Education Consortium of States (CTECS)); most valuable when given in addition to appropriate course-specific credentials that demonstrate mastery of valuable CTE Skills.

Specific information about industry certifications is available on the Industry Credentialing page on the Virginia Department of Education website.