Under the new program, a solution provider with a passing grade on a Symantec security exam plus an approved vendor-neutral certification can earn one of Symantec's certifications, said Allyson Seelinger, Symantec vice president of enterprise and consumer channels. "This will help us get new partners into the program and help them get certified quickly," she said.

For example, the Symantec Product Specialist (SPS) certification requires a Symantec exam plus either the Security++certification from CompTIA or the System Security Certified Practitioner certification from the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC)2.

Symantec overhauled its certification program in response to feedback from partners who expressed "angst" with the growing number of vendor-specific certifications in the security industry, Seelinger said.

Other vendor-neutral certifications that Symantec accepts include the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) from (ISC)2 and certain types of the SANS (SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security) Global Information Assurance Certification.

Cupertino-based Symantec also reduced the number of certification exams to four in broad security areas such as firewall/VPN technologies and intrusion-detection, from 12 mostly product-specific tests.

In addition, the vendor is offering instructor-led training for free to its Enterprise Security and Enterprise Solutions Partners. That training usually costs about $1,000 to $2,000 per class, depending on length.

"With the large number of different certifications available, it's refreshing to see a company like Symantec build its certification process on top of robust, industry-recognized certifications," said Andrew Brinkhorst, a Lexington, Ky.-based independent security consultant and certified Symantec Technology Architect. "Customers will benefit from the more strategic or holistic approach to security that the new certification process will emphasize."

Chris Ellerman, vice president of professional services at Meridian IT Solutions, Schaumburg, Ill., said the company already has many Symantec certifications but agreed that the vendor is making the right moves.

"It makes a lot of sense because it's not just a certification that you understand Symantec products but [also] that you understand Symantec products in relation to security concepts," he said. "The security world is a process, not just a product."

Called Digital Home Technology Integrator+ (CEA-CompTIA DHTI+), the certification is in beta mode and is available to integrators free at http://certification.comptia.org/hti/dhti_faq.aspx. Plans call for the certification to officially launch in March. It will cost $180 for CompTIA members and $225 for nonmembers.

The certification is designed to provide digital integrators an industry-accepted seal of approval to show their mastery of home integration standards, including networking, audio/video, telephone and VoIP, security and surveillance, home control management, and documentation and troubleshooting, said Miles Jobgen, CompTIA product manager.

"The main reason behind this is that the mass market is beginning to adopt advanced technologies in the home. They are beginning to demand integrated home networks," Jobgen said. "It's getting to the point where this technology and products are no longer boutique offerings available only to the upper echelon of society. Some of the technology is relatively easy to install. But once you start adding multiple components to the home network, it becomes too complicated for the average homeowner. They need somebody to help them configure and optimize those solutions."

The program shows recognition by CompTIA and CEA, under its Tech Home Division, of the growing need for skilled digital integrators in the home construction and retrofit markets. Industry leaders expect that demand to grow with the upcoming release of Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, which brings added multimedia muscle. Also fueling demand, they said, are the growing need to receive, store, manage and share music and video files available over broadband connections; the influx of cost-effective home technology solutions, such as IP-based surveillance, control, automation and entertainment; and fully networked computing.

CEA, for its part, is taking a tiered approach to certification. While DHTI+ focuses on mass-market integration, CEA's Tech Home Division recently partnered with the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) and the National System Contractors Association (NSCA) to launch the Electronic Systems Professional Alliance, which will provide cross-industry certification for the upper end of the custom installation market.

The new programs offer training and certification tailored for different types of integrators, but the initiatives are designed to help those professionals gain widespread recognition as a unified "fourth trade" group, along with builders, architects and interior designers in the home market.

"There are so many different training platforms, but nothing has gained traction," said Jay McClellan, president of Home Automation Inc. and president of CEA's Tech Home Division. "We want to ground the training on a basic foundation that each group can build its own content on top of. Then we can continually upgrade the programs to further refine what the groups are doing in the market."

Although CEDIA offers comprehensive training and certification for high-end installation and integration through its CEDIA University program, it has just begun to add sections on IP-based networking that are aimed more at the mass market. Gerry Lynch, CEO of System Seven, a Topsfield, Mass.-based home integrator, said a trusted certification program in that realm would be useful.

"There have been other programs, but I just wish some of them would stick. CompTIA offered HTI+ certification, but I couldn't find anywhere to take the exam," Lynch said. "A lot of companies that offer certification say, 'Take the test with us because you're guaranteed to pass.' But, hey, I actually want my guys to learn something. I want them to know a lot more tomorrow than they know today."

PC-related and IP-based networking skills are particularly important in today's home integration environment, Lynch noted.

"We need PC skills and things like Apple desktop support skills, but we don't necessarily need to be MCE or Cisco certified," Lynch said. "My guys don't work on corporate networks or hide in the server closet. I have guys hooking up home theaters all day long, and they want to learn more PC home integration skills. They just don't have anyplace to go."

DHTI+ courses and exams will be offered by several third-party groups throughout the country, Jobgen said.

The proposal by the major cardiovascular societies in the US to form a new board of cardiovascular medicine to manage initial and ongoing certification of cardiologists represents something of a revolution in the field of continuing medical education and assessment of competency. 

Five US cardiovascular societies — the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association (AHA), the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA), the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) — have now joined forces to propose a new professional certification board for cardiovascular medicine, to be known as the American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine (ABCVM). 

The ABCVM would be independent of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), the current organization providing maintenance of certification for cardiologists as well as many other internal medicine subspecialties. The ABIM's maintenance of certification process has been widely criticized for many years and has been described as "needlessly burdensome and expensive." 

The ABCVM is hoping to offer a more appropriate and supportive approach, according to Jeffrey Kuvin, MD, a trustee of the ACC, who has been heading up the working group to develop this plan. 

Kuvin, who is chair of the cardiology at Northwell Health, Manhasset, New York, a l arge academic healthcare system, explained that maintenance of certification has been a Topic of discussion across the cardiovascular community for many years, and the ACC has a working group focused on the next steps for evaluation of competency, which he chairs.

"The Topic of evaluation of competence has been on the mind of the ACC for many years and hence a work group was developed to focus on this," Kuvin noted. "A lot of evolution of the concepts and next steps have been drawn out of this working group. And now other cardiovascular societies have joined to show unification across the house of cardiology and that this is indeed the way that the cardiovascular profession should move." 

"Time to Separate from Internal Medicine"

The general concept behind the new cardiology board is to separate cardiology from the ABIM. 

"This is rooted from the concept that cardiology has evolved so much over the last few decades into such a large multidimensional specialty that it really does demarcate itself from internal medicine, and as such, it deserves a separate board governed by cardiologists with collaboration across the entirely of cardiology," Kuvin said. 

Cardiology has had significant growth and expansion of technology, tools, medications, and the approach to patients in many specialities and subspecialties, he added. "We have defined training programs in many different areas within cardiology; we have our own guidelines, our own competency statements, and in many cases, cardiology exists as its own department outside of medicine in many institutions. It's just time to separate cardiology from the umbrella of internal medicine." 

The new cardiology board would be separate from, and not report to, the ABIM; rather, it would report directly to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), the only recognized medical certification body in the US. 

What Are the Proposed Changes

Under the present system, managed by the ABIM, clinicians must undergo two stages of certification to be a cardiologist. First, they have to pass the initial certification exam in general cardiology, and then exams in one of four subspecialties if they plan to enter one of these, including interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, advanced heart failure or adult congenital heart disease. 

Next, clinicians enter the maintenance of certification phase, which can take three different forms: 1) taking another recertification exam every 10 years; 2) the collaborative maintenance pathway — a collaboration between ACC and ABIM, which includes evaluation, learning and a certified exam each year; or 3) longitudinal knowledge and assessment — in which the program interacts with the clinician on an ongoing basis, sending secured questions regularly. 

All three of these pathways for maintenance of certification involve high stakes questions and a set bar for passing or failing. 

Under the proposed new cardiology board, an initial certification exam would still be required after fellowship training, but the maintenance of certification process would be completely restructured, with the new approach taking the form of continuous learning and assessment of competency. 

"This is an iterative process, but we envision with a new American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine, we will pick up where the ABIM left off," Kuvin notes. "That includes an initial certifying examination for the five areas that already exist under the ABIM system but with the opportunities to expand that to further specialties as well."

He points out that there are several areas in cardiology that are currently not represented by these five areas that warrant some discussion, including multimodality imaging, vascular heart disease, and cardio-oncology. 

"At present, everybody has to pass the general cardiology exam and then some may wish to further train and get certified in one of the other four other specific areas. But one Topic that has been discussed over many years is how do we maintain competency in the areas in which clinicians practice over their lifetime as a cardiologist," Kuvin commented. 

He said the proposed cardiology board would like to adhere to some basic principles that are fundamental to the practice of medicine. 

"We want to make sure that we are practicing medicine so that our patients derive the most benefit from seeing a cardiologist," he said. "We also want to make sure, however, that this is a supportive process, supporting cardiologists to learn what they know and more importantly what they don't know; to identify knowledge gaps in specific area; to help the cardiologist fill those knowledge gaps; to acknowledge those gaps have been filled; and then move on to another area of interest. This will be the focus of this new and improved model of continuous competency."

The proposed new board also says it wants to make sure this is appropriate to the area in which the clinician is practicing.

"To take a closed book certified exam every 10 years on the world of cardiology as happens at the current time – or the assessments conducted in the other two pathways – is often meaningless to the cardiologist," Kuvin says. "All three current pathways involve high stakes questions that are often irrelevant to one’s clinical practice." 

Lifelong Learning

"The crux of the changes we are proposing will be away from the focus of passing a test towards a model of helping the individual with their competency, with continuous learning and evaluation of competency to help the clinician fill in their knowledge gaps," he explains.

He described the new approach as "lifelong learning," adding that, instead of it being "a punitive pass/fail environment with no feedback, which causes a lot of discontent among clinicians," it will be a supportive process, where a clinician will be helped in filling their knowledge gaps. 

"I think this would be a welcome change not just for cardiology but across medical specialties," Kuvin said. 

He also pointed out the ABMS itself is considering a continuous competency approach, and the proposed new cardiology board aims to work with the ABMS to make sure that their goals of continuous competency assessment are matched. 

"The world has changed. The ability to access information has changed. It is no longer imperative for a clinician to have every piece of knowledge in their brain, but rather to know how to get knowledge and to incorporate that knowledge into clinical practice," Kuvin noted. "Competency should not involve knowledge alone as in a closed book exam. It is more about understanding the world that we live in, how to synthesize information, where we need to Improve knowledge and how to do that." 

Kuvin acknowledged that asking clinicians questions is a very helpful tool to identify their knowledge base and their knowledge gaps. "But we believe the clinician needs to be given resources – that could be a conference, an article, a simulation - to fill that knowledge gap. Then we could ask clinicians some different questions and if they get those right then we have provided a service." 

Tactile skills for cardiologists needing to perform procedures – such as interventionalists or electrophysiologists may be incorporated by simulation in a technology-based scenario.

On how often these assessments would take place, Kuvin said that hadn't been decided for sure. 

"We certainly do not think an assessment every 10 years is appropriate. We envision, instead of an episodic model, it will be rather a lifelong journey of education and competency. This will involve frequent contact and making sure knowledge gaps are being filled. There are criteria being set out by the ABMS that there should be a certain number of touch points with individuals on an annual as well as a 5-year basis to make sure cardiologists are staying within specific guardrails. The exact nature of these is yet to be determined," he said. 

Kuvin added that it was not known yet what sort of hours would be required but added that "this will not be a significant time burden."

What is the Timeframe?

The application to the ABMS for a separate cardiology board is still ongoing and has not yet received formal acceptance. Representatives from the five US cardiovascular societies are in the initial stages of formulating a transition board. 

"The submission to the ABMS will take time for them to review. This could take up to a year or so," Kuvin estimates. 

This is the first time the ABMS has entertained the concept of a new board in many years, he noted. "It will be a paradigm shift for the whole country. I think that cardiology is really at the forefront and in a position where we can actually do this. If cardiovascular medicine is granted a new board, I think this will help change the approach of how physicians are assessed in terms of continuous competency not just in cardiology but across all specialties of medicine."

He added: "We are confident that we can work within the construct of the ABMS guidelines that have been revised to be much more holistic in the approach of continuous competence across the board. This includes thinking beyond rote medical knowledge and thinking about the clinician as a whole and their abilities to communicate, act professionally, work within a complex medical system, utilize medical resources effectively. These all have to be part of continuous competence."

How Much Will This Cost?

Noting that the ABIM has received criticism over the costs of the certification process, Kuvin said they intend to make this "as lean a machine as possible with the focus on reducing the financial [burden] as well as the time burden for cardiologists. It is very important that this is not cumbersome, that it is woven into clinical practice, and that it is not costly." 

But he pointed out that building a new board will have significant costs. 

"We have to think about developing initial board certification examinations as well as changing the paradigm on continuous certification," he said. "This will take some up-front costs, and our society partners have decided that they are willing to provide some start-up funds for this. We anticipate the initial certification will remain somewhat similar in price, but the cost of ongoing continuous competency assessment will be significantly reduced compared to today's models."

Kuvin said the collaboration of the five participating US cardiovascular societies was unprecedented. But he noted that while the transition board is beginning with representatives of these individual societies, it will ultimately be independent from these societies and have its own board of directors. 

He suggested that other societies representing other parts of cardiology are also interested. "Cardiology has recognized how important this is," he said. "Everybody is excited about this."

The plan lets HISD begin its school year before the fourth Monday in August, allowing for it to have an extended academic calendar.

Anuj Nayar is the financial health officer at LendingClub, a digital marketplace bank based in San Francisco.

With a heightened sense of financial uncertainty heading into 2023, it’s important for Americans to consider ways they can help make the most of their financial situation and prepare for continued economic instability.

Here are six money moves consumers can make in 2023 to help weather the unknown:

Build A Solid Emergency Fund

A perfect place to start is by building a habit of saving. Begin by putting a percentage of your earnings into a savings account each paycheck, even if it’s a small amount. By setting up automatic transfers to your account (hopefully a high-yield savings account) each pay period, you’ll be able to set aside extra cash needed for an emergency without even thinking about it.

There are differences of opinion around the amount individuals should aim to have in their emergency fund, but I generally recommend saving at least three months’ worth of essential expenses like rent, groceries and utilities. Depending on your circumstances and financial resources, you may want to add a bigger cushion.

With many expecting a recession to occur in 2023, it’s important to keep in mind just how pricey an emergency expense truly is. According to a accurate LendingClub x PYMNTS report, the average emergency expense is estimated to be about $1,400, a figure that may increase thanks to continued historic inflation. With this in mind, remember that emergency funds should only be used for a true emergency, such as an unexpected medical expense or job loss.

Find A High-yield Savings Account To Store Your Extra Cash

Take advantage of high-yield savings accounts during this extended period of financial uncertainty and high interest rates. By setting extra cash aside into these types of accounts, individuals can increase the return on their hard-earned money. As of December 2022, top rates are as high as 4.0%, so don’t miss the opportunity to reap the rewards.

Pay Down High-interest Credit Card Debt

It’s been a record year for inflation, Fed rate hikes, annual percentage rates (APRs), and increased interest rates, and unfortunately, they may get worse before they get better. Because the cost of borrowing is unusually high, it’s important to take this into account as consumers pay off debt. Individuals can utilize debt reduction strategies, like the avalanche method, where they can pay off their debts with the highest interest rates first, after making minimum payments on their other debts.

If your debt is high-interest or if you have a tough time keeping track of all your monthly bills, you can also consider consolidating it into a fixed, lower-rate personal loan.

Make A Plan For Your Student Loans

The Topic of student loan repayments has been top of mind in 2022 and it’s still unclear when loan repayments will resume in 2023. Regardless, here’s why it’s important to prepare now for future student loan repayments.

Many people have updated their budgets without including student loan repayments. Before 2020, the average monthly payment for borrowers making active payments stood between $200 and $300. With the current economic environment and inflation, Americans will need to rearrange, sometimes drastically, their budgets to account for an additional $200-plus payment per month.

We can no longer rely on stimulus checks. It’s no longer realistic for Americans to rely on stimulus checks as a form of income as they did for the past two years. While some may receive additional stimulus checks from their state, Americans should start to create a realistic financial game plan without planning for a sum of money that may or may not come.

You can learn more about why I think it’s imperative for borrowers to rearrange their budgets to account for student loan repayments in 2023 in a previous piece of mine.

Invest In Your Future

It’s natural to worry when the slowed economy is reflected in a downturn in the stock market and dips in 401(k) or brokerage accounts. However, it’s important to keep the long-term picture in mind. Unless you are nearly or fully retired, you can take advantage and purchase investments at reduced prices to further your long-term investment vehicles.

Consider other investment options like HSAs, real estate, annuities and small businesses to help diversify and prepare for long-term goals. Consult a certified plan administrator or financial advisor, who will also be able to help diversify portfolios based on risk tolerance and retirement timeline.

Have Some Fun

Sustained economic uncertainty and a potential recession is a scary place to be, and Americans are rightfully feeling anxious. It’s also important to focus on things that bring you joy—make sure to have some fun and remember, nothing lasts forever.

The information provided here is not investment, tax or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation.

Forbes Finance Council is an invitation-only organization for executives in successful accounting, financial planning and wealth management firms. Do I qualify?

Unless you’ve been asleep since the last Bush administration, you’re probably aware that employers are having a hard time finding qualified talent for jobs which demand tech skills. Qualified talent means having the requisite skills and – increasingly – relevant experience, which is turning the concept of an entry-level job into something of an oxymoron. The tech skills in question span way beyond coding. As the vast majority of good jobs now utilize software platforms for some or most functions, coding is the least of employers’ worries. Companies want talent that knows how to implement, integrate, configure, and run thousands of software platforms used to run 21^st century businesses.

As I’ve chronicled America’s skills and talent gap, I’ve focused on hot areas like cybersecurity and data science, new software platforms like Salesforce and Workday, and hundreds of other software-as-a-service companies providing digital functionality for specific industries or job functions e.g., finance hospitals (Epic), insurance agents (Applied Epic), home care (WellSky), construction (Procore), pharma (Veeva), sales and marketing (Hubspot), customer service (Zendesk), software development (Atlassian), low-code app development (Pega), cloud computing (AWS), and digital transformation itself (ServiceNow).

But Salesforce and Workday aren’t the most widely used software platforms – not even close. The platforms with the most users are enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems like SAP and Oracle. One reason is that they’re much older; SAP and Oracle were founded in the 1970s. Another is that ERP systems were designed to handle the full suite of business functions, including accounting, budgeting, project management, and supply chain management. As a result, most large companies and organizations adopted ERP long before Salesforce was even a gleam in Marc Benioff’s eye; SAP has more than 425,000 clients across 180 countries – nearly 3x the number served by Salesforce.

SAP clients have always needed SAP certified talent on hand to maintain, adapt, and enhance their on-prem ERP platforms – SAP currently offers 145 certifications, many of which are specific to individual modules. But the need for SAP talent is growing dramatically due to a major shift. Due in part to companies like Salesforce, businesses now buy and consume software differently. Rather than installing and hosting on-prem instances, SAP is migrating clients to the cloud via its S/4HANA platform. The benefits to clients of running ERP in the cloud are many including scalability, feature availability, security, and cost savings. But migrating an entire ERP to the cloud is no small matter.

As SAP’s 2027 deadline for migrating legacy ERP systems to S/4HANA is fast approaching, clients have some major decisions to make. While S/4HANA works both on prem and in the cloud, the advantages of cloud adoption are steadily increasing, and clients who delay too long may face challenges with outdated infrastructure. So for most clients, the S/4HANA migration is synonymous with moving to the cloud.

All this requires talent. Back in 2020, a survey by the Americas SAP User Group found that only a fraction of SAP consultants were trained and prepared for the coming tsunami of S/4HANA work. SAP has since responded with the Partner Talent Initiative, offering training curricula 2-3-week-long free online bootcamps to SAP partners and aspiring consultants. But the talent gap is still massive. New research from the Americas SAP User Group found a 25% of users said the talent gap was holding up projects overall and 49% reported a lack of S/4HANA talent.

It's not only clients. According to the SAP User Group, the SAP talent gap is hitting SAP partners like systems integrators and consultancies at least as much as clients. As Geoff Scott, the CEO of the Americas SAP User Group told The Register:

We are going to feel the pinch of that skill gap. My word of caution is that as you think about moving to S/4 if you have not already, the ability for you to plan that migration may hit some turbulence related to skill gaps with your external partners. That's something that you absolutely positively should consider.

Thomas Michael, founder and CEO of Michael Management, a leading provider of SAP training, agrees:

According to our surveys of 1000s of SAP professionals, 4 out of 10 say they have not received enough SAP training to perform their job duties. This not only highlights a critical gap in professional development but also presents an opportunity for organizations to rethink their training strategies. The future of SAP lies in empowering professionals with the knowledge and tools they need to embark on the S/4HANA upgrade journey.

What are some options for closing the SAP talent gap? It’s unlikely that colleges and universities will come to the rescue. In an article a few years ago on Texas A&M’s effort to launch courses in cybersecurity, the Chronicle of Higher Education – American higher education’s paper of record – reached the following conclusion: “Work-force demand can lead some institutions to teach students the skills needed for today’s entry-level jobs. But those tools may well be obsolete five or ten years from now.” The implication – one that is absolutely in the mainstream of college and university thinking – is that updating curriculum to reflect near-term technology needs may not be a worthwhile pursuit because such needs will change. And even if colleges, universities, or – more likely – bootcamps did offer S/4HANA training, it wouldn’t do much to close the growing experience gap.

The most promising solution is one that delivers not only training but also experience. I’m talking about apprenticeship. Apprenticeships are jobs with built-in training and experience, allowing for the hiring of apprentices without either. As I discuss in my new book, Apprentice Nation, apprenticeships have the potential to close the talent gap across hundreds of sectors as well as to reinvigorate socioeconomic mobility. SAP is no exception.

If apprenticeships are the best solution for the SAP ecosystem, where will they come from? Don’t look at SAP clients. They’re unlikely to solve this problem themselves. In a reaction to the higher cost of bad hires and increased employee churn, employers are increasingly insisting on the perfectly qualified candidate. If job applicants don’t check all the boxes, they won’t be considered. Peter Cappelli of Wharton has observed this phenomenon: “Employers are demanding more of job candidates than ever before. They want prospective workers to be able to fill a role right away, without any training or ramp-up time. To get a job, you have to have that job already.”

My best guess is that new S/4HANA talent will come from one or more SAP partners that decide to get into the business of providing trained, proven talent to clients and other partners. By deploying newly trained talent on migration projects or directly to clients and partners via staff augmentation, enterprising SAP partners can stand out in a mature partner ecosystem, and in so doing, launch thousands of remunerative SAP careers.

Over the next few years, I expect to see SAP partners launching new initiatives to provide trained, proven S/4HANA talent to SAP partners and clients. With so many clients and partners in need of talent, the opportunity is far too vast to remain unfilled for very long.

People often confuse the role of a financial planner with other, similar jobs like financial advisors. While there are similarities between these jobs, there are key differences. A financial advisor generally helps people manage their money, while a financial planner develops personalized financial plans for their clients, including estate planning, saving for children's college expenses, and retirement planning.

Both professionals may also differ regarding their educational backgrounds and designations. Financial planners may also have a special area of expertise. If you're thinking of becoming a financial planner, there are some key points you need to think about.

Do you have the right education and the skills necessary to be a success? Is this even the right career path for you? Read on to learn more about financial planning, and take our quiz to help you make a more informed decision.

Miami University is committed to sustainability in our academic programs, physical campus and operations, and university mission by promoting environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic viability for current and future generations. This commitment is a collaborative effort that involves students, faculty, staff and external partners.