Making a new certification credible

The problem

TestOut built hands-on IT training that schools used to prepare students for industry certifications. TestOut also issued its own credentials, the TestOut Pro Certifications. A new certification only matters if people outside the company believe in it. Instructors wanted to know whether a Pro Certification would help their students get hired. Employers had never heard of it. State CTE programs and colleges had no reason to count it.

The question I was working on: how do you make a new credential worth earning?

What I did

Put money behind the claim. I initiated and led a cross-department committee that built the Skills Guarantee. If an employer hired a Pro Certified student who turned out not to have the skills, TestOut paid the employer. It was a simple promise that said, in effect, “we’re confident enough to pay if we’re wrong.” The committee brought product, sales and leadership together to set the terms. Then we built the launch kit: the landing page, the flyer, an FAQ, an instructor guide, verification steps and an email series for instructors and students.

Get on the lists that schools use to choose. Many high school CTE programs can only fund or count credentials that appear on their state’s approved list. I prepared applications to get Pro Certifications onto those lists. Each one needed curriculum mappings, exam details and employer endorsements. Five state education boards approved them. When a state approved, we told customers in that state right away, because it changed what their programs could count.

Make it count for college credit. I worked on articulation so students could turn a Pro Certification into college credit. Ten colleges approved credit.

Show the proof in one place. We turned the recognition work into collateral that sales and instructors could hand to anyone: a recognition brochure in English and Spanish, value sheets for each certification, and a state recognition one-pager.

Talk to students at the right moment. Inside the LabSim courseware, I designed triggered messages to students. They went out at points like welcome, the first lab, passing a practice exam, and needing a retake, across about 11 Pro certification courses. These nudged students toward certifying when they were most ready.

Results

• The Skills Guarantee ran for 6 years, from a committee I initiated and led.
• 5 state education board approvals, from applications I prepared.
• 10 college credit approvals.
• Triggered in-product messaging across about 11 certification courses.

Why it matters

For EdTech: credibility is the product. I know how schools, states and employers decide what counts, and how to earn a place on those lists. For marketing leadership: the strongest marketing here wasn’t an ad. It was a guarantee and a set of third-party approvals, which is product strategy, partnerships and proof working together.