Abstract
[This is an excerpt.] In 2018, more than 43 million people in the United States held a professional certification or license. The prevalence of occupational licenses, common in fields such as healthcare, law, and education, has risen substantially over the past 50 years.1 Professional certifications, while less common than licenses, can signal proficiency in fast-changing fields like project management, software development, and financial analysis. Both of these time-limited credentials can serve as alternative forms of educational attainment, demonstrating a level of skill or knowledge needed to perform a specific type of job. As a result, researchers and others have developed an interest in using government surveys to measure the prevalence of certifications and licenses and tying these credentials to labor market outcomes and earnings. To meet this need, in January 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), working with the federal Interagency Working Group on Expanded Measures of Enrollment and Attainment (GEMEnA), added questions on certifications and licenses to the Current Population Survey (CPS). This article provides an in-depth analysis of CPS data on professional certifications and licenses for 2018. [To read more, click View Resource.]
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Government: Fair and Meaningful Reward & Recognition (Support Career Development).
