| Sources | Certification refers to the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization. This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form of external review, education, or assessment. One of the most common types of certification in modern society is professional certification, where a person is certified as being able to competently complete a job or task, usually by the passing of an examination.
There are two general types of professional certification: some are valid for lifetime, once the exam is passed. Others have to be recertified again after a certain period of time. Also, certifications can differ within a profession by the level or specific area of expertise they refer to. For example, in IT Industry there are different certifications available for Software Tester, Project Manager, and Developer. Similarly, the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology offers three certifications in the same profession, but with increasing complexity.
Certification does not refer to the state of legally being able to practice or work in a profession. That is licensure. Usually, licensure is administered by a governmental entity for public protection purposes and certification by a professional association. However, they are similar in that they both require the demonstration of a certain level of knowledge or ability. |
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| Comment | "officially-certified" are things like photocopies or inventions:
Toshiba's Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Officially Certified as World's Smallest by Guinness World Records 28 February, 2005
Time has come for Stanford's last officially certified historic tree.
The New Suzuki SX4-FCV now officially certified by the Japanese government.
I doubt that it is used for people, but please correct me if I'm wrong. |
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