The same group of students I had a few weeks ago asked this very question. This subject came up when talking about the certification test that was applicable to the class. There was quite a lively debate on this subject and much of it was generated from students whose employers would not pay for the certification test (these comments came from students in both government and private industry).
The students whose companies were going to pay for the certification test were not nearly as contentious a bunch as the students whose companies or agencies would not pay for the test. The argument given by many companies for NOT paying for the test was that taking a certification test was not required for their job and promotions were not given based on certification tests. On the other hand, many of the students came from companies who viewed certification differently. These employers saw value in ensuring their employees were certified on the platforms or products in their own applicable areas. In one case, all promotions were tied to taking any applicable tests for classes they attended. Employers see an increased value to their company and increased performance if their employees are certified. Now one interesting excuse I heard given from an employee (this was many years ago) as to why their company wouldn’t pay for certification tests was that then the employees might leave and find work elsewhere (for more money). This is not a good reason and in fact might be an indicator of further management issues that should be addressed. (I once worked in an environment where management tried to actually curb their employees from learning – only “approved” subject areas were allowed – imagine that)
In my opinion -employers should encourage the taking of any applicable certification tests – at the very least it will help to reinforce what was learned in class. If the employee is diligent in their studies – they will also learn a lot more about the subject matter as well.
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