We’re seeing a rise in the demand for professional certifications, with over 220 million learners signing up for at least one online course around the globe.

It’s largely due to the impact these courses make on people’s careers. Studies show that 92% of people who upskill through certification programs get a salary increase, promotion, or new job. 

So, if you have industry expertise to share with other professionals or are looking to scale your coaching business, now is the time to learn how to create a certification program.

TL;DR – How to Create a Certification Program

You can start your own certification course with these steps:

1. Define the course’s scope and intent
2. Create a program framework
3. Design methods for skills assessment
4. Run a pilot test
5. Promote your program
6. Review and update your standards

Head on to the full article, where I discuss how you can build a certification program in detail.

Once you’ve completed your certification course, you can market it to your target participants.

How? By creating a message strategy that sparks conversations and highlights the value that your course provides.

I’m Nora Sudduth, and I can help you shape messaging that attracts a wider audience and gets people to sign up. Book a discovery call with me to know how.

What is a Certification Program?

A certification program is a specialized course that focuses on gaining a specific skill or qualification.

Compared to traditional degrees, certification programs are shorter and have a more flexible framework. 

Courses nowadays typically use the distance learning model, where participants can attend classes online and pass a comprehensive test to earn a certification.

What is an Example of a Certificate Program?

An example of a certificate program is Google’s Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Professional Certificate via Coursera.

It’s a seven-course, beginner-level program that trains people who are interested in starting a digital marketing career.

In this program, participants learn the fundamentals of digital marketing, marketing analytics, and e-commerce.

Like most online courses, it allows participants to learn at their own pace anywhere in the world.

Suppose you own a coaching business and are thinking of scaling. In that case, you can also start an in-house certification program to amplify your brand’s impact and maintain the quality of your services.

Why Create a Certification Program

Should you create a certification program? 

Here are three ways a certificate course can benefit your business:

Expand Your Network

Launching a certificate course not only gives you the opportunity to help people but also do what you excel at.

It also enables you to join the circles of other industry leaders and professionals. Who knows, your next business opportunity might just be one connection away.

Establish Industry Leadership

Certifications also allow you to showcase your expertise.

This effectively demonstrates authority in your industry, which gets the attention of people eager to learn from you and other experts who can further your influence and impact.

Scale Your Business

Creating a certification program is also an excellent way to grow your business without diminishing the quality of your service.

For example, if you’ve created a process that you’ve proven to be effective at generating results, you can teach other coaches to do what you do by starting a licensing certification program.

Doing so will allow you to create more streams of revenue, explore new markets, and boost brand recognition.

Elements of a Certification Training Program

A certification course should have the following essential elements:

• Curriculum: Serves as the guide for the course and contains the topics, activities, and skills assessments that each participant must cover. 

To design a robust course, you can collaborate with other industry experts and organizations.

• Industry-specific competencies: These are the qualifications and skills that participants gain after undergoing the training. Clearly communicate these as the objectives for the training program.
• Learning materials: Establish how you intend to train participants during the course. For instance, for a self-paced program, you can have pre-recorded video lessons that participants can watch at their convenience.
• Assessment tools: Set how you will gauge your participants’ mastery of each subject matter covered, as well as their qualification for the certification itself. These tools can include quizzes and comprehensive exams.
• Instructors: Determine whether you’ll need the help of other experts to deliver specific lessons or teach all the sessions yourself. 

If you need to partner with other instructors, make sure they are industry-recognized and able to competently deliver a lesson.

• Marketing: Get the word out about your course so participants who need your expertise can learn from you.

To do so, shape strategic messaging that addresses your audience’s industry-specific needs and challenges.

How to Create Your Own Certification Program

Developing a certification program can be fulfilling both personally and professionally. 

It allows you to help others excel the way you excel while also growing your business and expanding your market reach.

But the benefits don’t end with you. The psychological impact of certifications for participants, like confidence-boosting and fostering continued learning, motivates them to sign up.

That’s why so many people are eager to enroll in these courses – and all the more reason for you to start one now.

Ready to teach others what you do best? Here’s how you can do it:

Define the Course’s Scope and Intent

The first order of business is determining the topic you want to cover.

Several things will affect your choice of subject matter:

• Your expertise and experience
• Purpose of the course
• Intended output or skill learned
• Relevance in the marketplace
• Level of demand

You can get an idea from your own professional background and knowledge. Still, it also helps to conduct market research or get insights from other industry experts to understand what people actually need.

Create a Program Framework

Once your course scope is established, you need to work on designing a curriculum that defines the course’s structure, content, and standards.

This involves elements like:

• Experts to consult or team up: Teaming up with other experts can help you establish the validity of your program and maximize the learning potential.
• Duration: To be effective and profitable at the same time, an online course should last anywhere from 10 to 25 hours, with each session lasting no longer than 15 minutes.
• Platform to use: Choose between offline and online platforms. Note that distance learning offers more flexibility and opportunities to reach a wider audience.
• Format: Depending on your chosen subject matter, your course can be interactive, self-paced, or lecture-type. 

With everyone on their phones nowadays, it’s also worth considering creating mobile-friendly courses that people can access anywhere.

• Level: Target entry-level participants with a beginner course, while experienced professionals with an advanced course.
• Course evaluation: Establish early on how you intend to assess the quality of the course. For example, you can look at participant feedback, retention rate, and sign-up rate.

Design Methods for Skills Assessment

The certification exam or skills assessment that measures participant competencies should be a part of your curriculum.

You can develop an accurate assessment by:

• Consulting with other subject matter experts and industry leaders
• Considering hiring a psychometrician who can help you design an accurate assessment
• Conducting market research to ensure that criteria are aligned with industry standards

Those who pass your certification assessment will be qualified for real-world application of the skills you trained them for. 

Run a Pilot Test

Before launching your program to a wider public, run a pilot test to gauge participant response, gain feedback, measure performance, and analyze results.

Use the data from this trial run to tighten loose ends or refine your curriculum.

Promote Your Program

Market your program to let your audience know your course is up. The goal is to ignite interest and inspire people to sign up.

Get the conversation going on all relevant platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, community forums, and even industry events.

But to do that, you must craft key messages that convey what’s unique about your course and why your audience needs it. 

After all, this isn’t like any other course. This is a program where you share your expertise and processes that actually work. 

Review and Update Your Standards

The work isn’t done after a successful program launch.

Regularly review and evaluate your course to ensure it stays fresh and at par with industry standards.

Some considerations at this stage include:

• Changes in industry trends
• Feedback from participants and other industry leaders or mentors
• Shifts in industry-related skills or assets needed

Work With Nora Sudduth to Create a Certification Program

I can help you effectively market and sell a certification program by shaping a brand message that highlights the benefits of your course and your proven record of success.

If you’re leaning toward short educational content, I can also help you design bite-sized courses that you can use to replicate for new assets as well.

Connect with me today to get started.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Learn more about developing a certification program here:

What is an Alternative Certification Program?

An alternative certification program (ACP) is designed for individuals with expertise in specific fields who want to transition to coaching or teaching.

Can Anyone Create a Certification Program?

Anyone can create a certification program as long as they have industry-recognized expertise. 

If you are thinking of designing your own certification program, you can also consult or collaborate with other industry leaders to ensure that your program meets industry standards.

What Makes a Certification Valid?

A certification is considered valid when recognized within a specific field or industry.

Factors that determine validity include:

• Accreditation
• Industry-relevant competencies
• Accuracy of certification assessment

Conclusion – How to Develop a Certification Program

Creating a certification program can seem like daunting work. But you can follow the steps mentioned in this guide to get started: 

• Define the course scope
• Establish a learning framework
• Run a pilot test

When all these are in place, market your course to attract your target audience.

I can help you with that. Let me walk you through crafting messages that effectively convey how your course can help your audience succeed. Join me for a discovery call today.