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For Immediate Release
ProsoftTraining and Certiport Announce Strategic Alliance
PHOENIX, ARIZONA (April 4, 2003) - ProsoftTraining (NASDAQ: POSO) today announced a strategic partnership with Certiport, Inc., to create a complete education and career pathway for the academic market. This partnership brings together the certification programs of two of the leading companies in the industry, and will result in better solutions for state and local governments, academic institutions and students.
Through the agreement, the companies have created a pathway leading from digital literacy education to the more advanced educational concepts of the CIW certification program. Prosoft has formally embraced Certiport's Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³) as the digital literacy certification standard, and will include IC³ in Prosoft's statewide Certification Adoption Program. Prosoft will benefit from the ability to offer a broader education solution, and Certiport gains important and focused access to this key emerging channel.
In recent months, Prosoft created and introduced its statewide Certification Adoption Program to assist academic institutions in providing industry-recognized certification education in the classroom through a Total Education Solution. The solution's components include faculty development, integrated curriculum resources, and assessment through high-stakes certifications, including in-classroom Internet-based testing. Faculty development is a core component of the solution as many teachers currently lack the technical knowledge to teach Information and Communications Technology (ICT) curriculum effectively. Among other states, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Colorado, Oklahoma and Louisiana have adopted CIW under this program.
Certiport's IC³ certification is a global standard that proves the holder has the current and relevant computing and Internet skills needed to thrive in today's information society. For many people, IC³ is their first computing qualification. IC³ tests an individual's basic ICT competence, as well as his or her understanding of hardware, software and computer networks. IC³ uses an interactive series of exams that test knowledge, practical skills and problem-solving abilities.
"The continuing evolution of the ICT training industry places increasing importance on state and local governments' workforce development capabilities," stated Robert Gwin, Prosoft's chairman and CEO. "Prosoft and Certiport both understand the significance of providing these institutions with articulated certification pathways that position students to obtain the skills necessary to succeed in today's workforce. I believe Prosoft's proven success in offering solutions-focused programs and products to the academic community will serve Certiport and the market very well."
"This strategic relationship serves to multiply opportunities for wide-scale adoptions of IC³ and CIW," stated David Saedi, Certiport's CEO. "In combining the leadership of Prosoft as a provider of comprehensive educational solutions at the state level with the strength of the world's only validated standard for digital literacy, IC³, we are able to serve significant market needs. We are pleased to announce this partnership as the first step in addressing several opportunities for our firms to work together to bring about high-quality professional programs for both students and teachers."
About ProsoftTraining
ProsoftTraining (NASDAQ: POSO) offers content and certifications to help individuals develop and validate critical Information and Communications Technology (ICT) workforce skills. Prosoft creates and distributes a complete library of classroom and e-learning courses. Prosoft distributes its content solutions through its ComputerPREP division to individuals, schools, colleges, commercial training centers and corporations worldwide. Prosoft owns the CIW job-role certification program for Internet technologies and the CCNT (Certified in Convergent Network Technologies) certification, and manages the CTP (Convergence Technologies Professional) vendor-neutral certification for telecommunications. To find out more, visit www.ProsoftTraining.com, www.ComputerPREP.com, www.CIWcertified.com, and www.CTPcertified.com.
About Certiport
Certiport, Inc., is the leading provider of global, performance-based certification programs and services designed to enable individual success and lifetime advancement through certification. Certiport is the exclusive provider of the IC³ program. For more information about Certiport's offerings, visit www.certiport.com.
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