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Ales Kabilka
Master Instructor
Ales Kabilka originally sought Microsoft® Office Specialist certification to assure students of his ability to teach them Microsoft Office. Since earning Master Instructor certification, Kabilka has discovered that the benefits of certification extend beyond just pleasing his students. On a collective level, Microsoft Office certification has increased the marketability of his employer. On a personal level, he has acquired greater Microsoft Office knowledge and increased his salary.
Kabilka's interest in attaining certification began when he started instructing at Digi Trade, a Microsoft Certified Technical Education Center (CTEC) in Prague, Czech Republic. His students often asked what certifications he held, and he felt it was unfair to have no reply. Despite the fact that he was confident in his abilities, Kabilka believed it was important to his students-and himself-to officially verify his skills with certification.
"Proving my skills with certification became my number one priority," he says. "Microsoft Office certification was the obvious choice since it was the only official certification for the Office programs."
To prepare for the certification exams, Kabilka downloaded preparation materials, including exam demos from the Microsoft Web site. "I was pleasantly surprised to find that certification exams are not just a measurement of theoretical knowledge determined by multiple-choice questions," he says. "Instead, the exams measure real skills and knowledge by requiring you to use the actual programs."
"I was also amazed at how much I learned about Microsoft Office while preparing for the exams," Kabilka confesses. "I had used the Office programs for more than three years, yet in the short time I spent preparing for certification, I learned many more product features that have helped me use and teach the programs more effectively."
Microsoft Office skills are in high demand in the Czech Republic, as it is the business software of choice for many organizations; consequently, Microsoft training providers are also in high demand. Digi Trade seeks to provide higher quality training and distinguish itself from the competition by encouraging instructors to become Master Instructors. In fact, Digi Trade rewarded Kabilka's Master Instructor certification achievement with a 35 percent increase in salary.
Now, the majority of instructors at Digi Trade has earned Microsoft Office certification and encourages students to do likewise.
"Just as Microsoft Office certification benefited me in several ways, it can also benefit my students," says Kabilka. "I tell my students that certification is important because it will improve their understanding of the Office programs and give them a Microsoft credential that proves their skills and the quality of work they will produce as employees. It definitely did for me!"
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