Earning a professional certification has both immediate and future benefits. One immediate benefit is improving on the ability to assess oneself for an undertaking, such as taking a certification exam. It involves going through all the steps such as setting goals, putting a plan, working hard, and after passing the exams, gaining confidence for future challenges. Another benefit is getting introduced and being a part of new communities; a community of people who are also planning to take the test, and afterwards, being part of a community who have passed the exams.
The future benefits of earning a professional certification include having the prestige of being a certification holder and the potential to earn more, being qualified for greater opportunities, and the confidence of having a general, well-rounded set of knowledge and skills. These are exciting aspects that make professionals consider preparing for certification exams, taking the opportunity to train professionally and to enhance one’s career. GreyCampus, a professional education management and accredited training provider, offers its OpenCampus initiative especially to those who are considering and planning to earn a professional certification.
Introducing OpenCampus
OpenCampus is the largest resource library on professional certifications. It offers access to course materials for dozens of courses such as PMP, CAPM, PMI-ACP, PRINCE2, Six Sigma and many others. It is a free resource site that also provides job demand information, downloadable material, practice exams and other toolkits. But more importantly, it is where individual professionals can read up, get familiar with and understand which certification is right for them. And from there, they can make better plans for the goals they want to achieve.
Course Materials
OpenCampus offers free access to course materials of top professional certifications. The website has a clean layout that allows a viewer to quickly go over the choices and select the course they are interested about. On the Project Management Professional home page, for instance, a three-column layout presents the whole syllabus on the left navigation pane, the course content on the middle, and available tools on the right hand pane. Items on the navigation pane can be expanded/collapsed to quickly see the subtopics and go to it instantly by clicking the links. The PMP home page contains all information about the exam, such as eligibility, preparations, type of questions, how to apply, and many more. It is then followed by the course topics such as the 10 knowledge areas and other exam topics.
Other courses available are the PMI’s CAPM and ACP, Axelos’ PRINCE2 Foundation, PRINCE2 Practitioner, and ITIL Foundation, ASQ’s Six Sigma Yellow, Green and Black Belt, and IASSC’s Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. Also available are certification training course materials from GreyCampus for Big Data Developer, Hadoop Administrator, Six Sigma White Belt, and Minitab, as well as Microsoft’s MS Excel training.
Resources and Toolkits
OpenCampus resource library also offers for free other services such as a job search for a particular certification and country where that demand is present. For example, selecting PMP and USA on the job search results in over 7100 jobs found, listing each job vacancy position, employer, location, and other details as well as the time the placement was posted. For every course, a practice exam button is available, and when clicked allows the viewer to take a number of questions for a limited time. For the PMP Practice Exams, 200 practice questions are available to be completed in 240 minutes or 4 hours. The Flash Card button, a great reviewer tool, displays a term on one side and the meaning on the other side when the Flip button is clicked.
Providing Free Resources on Professional Certifications
OpenCampus also has a blog that contains many great articles that provides tips, insights and practical information on a number of topics. For instance, an article on how to set project goals in a smarter manner displays an infographic containing 7 tips such as being specific, having proper documentation, and setting a deadline, among others. In offering the largest resource library on professional certifications, OpenCampus provides not only valuable information but also invaluable service to all professionals looking to get ahead in their careers. To learn more of the latest in their courses and services, visit their Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn or Twitter page.
Recommended Project Management Software
If you’re interested in learning more about top rated project management software, the editors at Project-Management.com actively recommend the following:
1 Wrike
Tackle complex projects with Wrike’s award-winning project management software. Break projects into simple steps, assign tasks to team members, and visualize progress with Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and calendars. Manage resource allocation and forecasting with software that’s easy to launch. Automation and AI features strip away time-consuming admin tasks so you can do the best work of your life. Streamline your practices, align your team, and ensure you hit deadlines and stay on budget.
2 ClickUp
ClickUp is one of the highest-rated project management tools today. Use Docs, Reminders, Goals, Calendars, Chat, scheduling, assigned comments, custom views, & more with this all-in-one project management tool.
Used by 800,000+ teams in companies like Airbnb, Google, and Uber, it brings all of your projects into a single app! Built for teams of all sizes and industries, Our fully customizable & proprietary features make it a must-have for anyone wanting to keep project management in one place.
3 monday.com
monday.com Work OS is the project management software that helps you and your team plan, execute, and track projects and workflows in one collaborative space. Manage everything from simple to complex projects more efficiently with the help of visual boards, 200+ ready-made templates, clever no-code automations, and easy integrations. In addition, custom dashboards simplify reporting, so you can evaluate your progress and make data-driven decisions.