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Certiport Welcomes EU Commission at Successful European Regional Summit in Barcelona

Industry Leaders Comment on ICT Skills Development and Certification Initiatives in Europe

BARCELONA - March 1, 2012

Partners and VIP guests from over 20 countries attended the Certiport European Summit in Barcelona to hear the European Commission and other industry stakeholders comment on ICT skills development and certification initiatives in Europe. Lieve Van Den Brande, Principal Administrator at the DG Education and Culture of the European Commission, provided the keynote address identifying the importance of ICT skills in addressing area economic and unemployment challenges.

At the Summit, Vocational Training institutes in Netherlands/UK and Spain's Ministry of Defence shared the success of various certification initiatives. Attendees also received program updates of e-Skills Week 2012 from Schoolnet, Microsoft, Adobe and HP. At the event Certiport, the official test delivery solution provider for the global workforce and academic markets, launched the new HP Accredited Technical Associate (ATA) certification program to address industry determined skills gaps in the marketplace.

"With 20 percent of young people unemployed in the EU, and over 40 percent of young people unemployed in Spain, Certiport welcomed the opportunity to host the European Regional Summit in Spain to continue to work with our international partners to address these issues," said Ray Kelly, CEO, Certiport. "We are committed to supporting the European Commission and other governments by highlighting the importance of ICT education and addressing fundamental regional issues such as a technology skills gap."

A summary of the Certiport Partner presentations at the European Regional Summit follows.

Microsoft Learning shared with the audience the importance of the Microsoft IT Academy and certification in evolving ICT education policy and implementations. Certiport and Microsoft have implemented the Microsoft IT Academy in three United States statewide ICT educational programs, driving Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) and Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) certification. Microsoft is also actively working with European governments to address the IT skills gap and the MOS and MTA certifications continue to experience significant growth internationally and in Europe.

"The Microsoft IT Academy program makes education more relevant to students so they can move from learning to earning," said Anneleen Vaandrager, Sr. Director of Education, Microsoft Learning. "With Microsoft IT Academies around the world, schools, teachers and students can now keep pace with changing technology and curriculum demands. The program also gives students equal access to the IT skills and certification they need to prepare for advanced studies and to improve career opportunities with higher earning potential."

Adobe Education announced their recent launch of the first European Adobe Education Exchange in the UK. Also available to educators in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, the Adobe Education Exchange is an online community for educators where they can share curriculum and learning resources and seek ongoing support and advice from peers. Through the Adobe Education Exchange, teachers can gain inspiration from one another while sharing best practices of how to leverage digital tools to drive student engagement and digital media skills. Adobe also offers the industry recognized Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) certification which validates basic, entry-level skills in digital communications using Adobe tools. ACA certification is currently available through Certiport testing partners in more than 20 European countries. In 2011, Adobe experienced a 100% increase in the uptake of the ACA certifications as many Education institutions recognized the correlation between students being able to demonstrate their competence in digital media skills and improvements in student outcomes and workforce preparedness.

HP with Certiport announced the global launch of the HP Institute, an academic partnership program designed to address the worldwide IT skills gap. The HP Institute aims to provide practical experience and job ready IT skills in an academic setting to help make students more employable. Many HP customers and partners report a growing shortage of IT professionals with the right skills, business insight, and practical end-to-end IT experience to help them design and implement critical new business and technology solutions. The HP Institute addresses this need by working with academia to create a continuous talent pool of graduates with the precise skills and experience businesses need most to help them succeed today and in the future.

About Certiport

Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, is the leading provider of certification exam development, delivery and program management services delivered through an expansive network of over 12,000 Certiport Authorized Testing Centers worldwide. Certiport manages a sophisticated portfolio of leading certification programs including: the official Microsoft Office Specialist certification program, the Microsoft Technology Associate certification program, the Microsoft Certified Educator program, the Adobe® Certified Associate certification program, the Adobe® Certified Expert program, the HP Accredited Technical Associate, the CompTIA Strata™ IT Fundamentals, the Autodesk Certified User certification program, the Intuit QuickBooks Certified User certification program, and the IC³ Digital Literacy certification. Certiport reliably delivers over three million tests each year throughout the secondary, post-secondary, workforce, and corporate technology markets in more than 148 countries and 27 languages worldwide. For more information, please visit www.certiport.com or follow Certiport on Twitter at www.twitter.com/certiport.

"Certiport," "IC³" and "MeasureUp" are registered trademarks of Certiport, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Press Contact:
Brenda Armstrong
1.801.602.0305
barmstrong@certiport.com