Certiport is a global leader in entry level training and certification courses geared towards in-demand tech skills that businesses are looking for. Since 1997 Certiport has developed both a wide array of curriculum as well as industry-recognized certifications and now administers millions of exams each year in countries around the world.
Their courses include training in software like the Microsoft Office suite, Adobe, and Apple’s Swift programming language. With Certiport, high school students gain sought-after skills in project management, accounting, IT, business, and more that will help them connect to whatever opportunities they’d like to pursue.
In addition to training, Certiport hosts global competitions that offer a unique, gamified approach to career learning. In these competitions students can win scholarships and prizes, and gain incredible proficiency in Microsoft and Adobe.
Our partnership with Certiport marks another significant step in bringing career-focused training to high school students and their families. As businesses face an ever-increasing labor shortage, the demand for well-skilled early talent will only grow. By connecting students to organizations like Certiport, our goal is to meet that need and open the next generation’s eyes to a host of career possibilities.
And Certiport doesn’t stop there. Students often wonder how they are going to use specific skills in the real-world. Certiport answers those questions by laying out the skills employers need, training students in those skills, and acknowledging their accomplishment through industry-recognized certifications—certifications backed by leaders like Cisco, Meta, Intuit, and Apple.
Craig Bushman, the GM of Certiport, believes that certification programs like the ones he helped develop are a clear win-win for both students and companies; students gain confidence and become more productive, and companies get the talent they need without having to devote resources to training.
Certiport has over a dozen certification courses, all available remotely, and all accessible to high school students. Check out their offerings, as well credentials geared towards even younger students: it’s an incredible resource and might very well be the first step towards a lifelong career.
Last year, we asked over 1,000 HR leaders and hiring managers what types of jobs are hardest to fill and 37% said that they struggle most with hiring those who are just getting started in the labor market. To put that in perspective, according to these business leaders, entry level talent is actually harder for them to find than executive level talent.
That’s the question we asked students in a survey conducted in August 2023. The overwhelming need-to-know item wasn’t college advice or career options, but skills. What skills should I develop? What skills are employers looking for? What abilities, knowledge, and experience do businesses want to hire?
According to another study conducted by Pearson, the top five skills desired by businesses are human skills (aka soft skills)—relational skills that help us forge connections with colleagues and customers. LinkedIn reported similar findings in their 2024 Most In-Demand Skills list, where the majority of the top 10 skills of today are human skills.
Employees with strong human skills tend to understand others’ needs and problems, communicate excellently, adapt and innovate well, and make good team players. So it is no wonder businesses want to hire people with such strengths.
What about hard skills? Aren’t they still important? While hard (or technical) skills remain vital, it is classic skills such as communication, leadership, and collaboration that form the necessary foundation for technical skills to rest upon. If a software developer can write code in five languages but can’t communicate well with management or collaborate with others, they are of considerably less value to their company. And in recent times, it appears that human skills are the commodity in short supply. Thus the demand is skyrocketing.
In this article, we will look at the top five desired skills and discuss how students and jobseekers can develop them early in the game—before they go off to college or land a “real” job, or even before they leave the house. We will also look at some of the fastest-growing, high-demand technical skills that can be added on top of the foundation of human skills.
