Dries Buytaert

I'm proud to share that Acquia announced its certification program today. You can now get "Acquia certified in Drupal", something I'm pretty excited about.

This is something I've been hoping to see in the community. While there have been other experiments around certification, we as a community have lacked a way to ensure professional standards across Drupal. Over the years, I've heard the demand coming from partners and clients who need a way to evaluate the skills of people on their teams. More and more, that demand has drowned out any perceived criticisms of a certification for Drupal.

A good certification is not just a rubber stamp, but a way for people to evaluate their own abilities, and make plans for improving their knowledge. In some countries, certification is really important to create a career path (something I learned when visiting India). For these reasons, I feel Drupal's growth and development has been hindered without a formal certification in place.

The certification we've built is based on the combined years of experience among Acquia staff who oversee and manage thousands of Drupal sites. We've observed patterns in errors and mistakes; we know what works and what doesn't.

People have debated the pros and cons of software certifications for years (including myself), especially where it involves evaluating candidates for hire. Certainly no certification can be used in isolation; it cannot be used to evaluate a candidate's ability to perform a job well, to work in teams or to learn quickly. Certification can, however, provide a valuable data point for recruiters, and a way for developers to demonstrate their knowledge and stand out. It is undeniably valuable for people who are early in their Drupal career; being certified increases their chance to find a great Drupal job opportunity.

One of the biggest challenges for Drupal adoption has been the struggle to find qualified staff to join projects. Certification will be helpful to recruiters who require that job candidates have a good understanding of Drupal. There are many other aspects to recruitment for which certification does not provide a substitute; it is only one piece of the puzzle. However, It will provide organizations added confidence when hiring Drupal talent. This will encourage the adoption of Drupal, which in turn will grow the Drupal project.

The community has been talking about this need for a long time. One approach, Certified to Rock, evaluated an individual's participation and contribution in the Drupal community. Acquia's certification is different because we're assessing Drupal problem-solving skills. But the community needs more assessments and qualifications. I hope to see other providers come into this space.