$6000 jobs with a top Colombo IT-certificate

The IT field has become a super-power employer in the past few years with one institution saying its certificate can command jobs with a monthly wage of almost US$6,000.

The average IT degree commands a starting salary of about Rs. 11,000 per month but with the professional IT technical certifications-such as the Microsoft Professional Certifications and the Java Professional Certifications offered by Ceylinco NetAssist, the holder of the certification would be able to secure a month’s pay of almost $6000, the institution says.

This type of certification is required because Sri Lanka has a dearth of technically trained IT professionals, according to Dr. S.G.M. Ramasubbu of Ceylinco NetAssist (Pvt) Ltd. Also post A/Level students would find this appealing, since many opt for popular accountancy courses (mainly CIM and CIMA) for lack of a better option. With this certification, the average student will have a far wider field of employment to enjoy, he said.

On the topic of employment, Dr. Ramasubbu says though there are at least 11,000 vacancies in the local IT market only 2,500 positions have been filled. While many people face the problem of Sri Lankan qualifications being inadequate for foreign jobs, this certification is an internationally recognized one and puts the recipient on par with any other qualified individual. “These certifications are usually seen in the upper-end of companies in the west,” he said, emphasising the importance of exposing Asians to this qualification as well.

Microsoft and other software giants have a lot of features like Content Management Systems, Share Point Portal Servers and Messaging Servers that are virtually unknown to people outside the field. Although they sound like hopeless technical terms, in reality they are programmes that are extremely useful in the corporate field. They would usually require getting down an ‘IT person’ to handle but with this certification, any member of the management can work on it, thereby reducing the cost to the company as well. Asked what the difference is between this certification and every other IT degree freely available in the country, Dr. Ramasubbu explains that most institutions do not have IT proprietary products, or products which are owned exclusively by a single company - something very much like a copyright, the best example for which would be Microsoft.

The course fee which is priced at approximately Rs. 2 million to Rs 3 million internationally can be obtained for less than Rs. 150,000 for the course which can be completed in nine months now, according to the Dr. Ramasubbu. Not only is this sure-fire way of increasing foreign earnings but as Dr. Ramasubbu puts it, “ICT professionals qualifications will bridge the digital divide”. (TR)