Hi All,

Just wanted to know from those who are already working in Oz (preferably in IT), how important are certifications while searching for a job? Will employers insist on someone having a certification in the respective field or will not having a certification reduce my chances considerably.

I have been working in SAP (ABAP and FI) for a long time now and I'm planning to do my FI Functional and probably SAP-ABAP certi before moving to Oz (sometime end of this year). But I have heard somewhere that if we are well experienced in our fields (in IT), employers will not be interested in these certis.

But if it is indeed required, I wouldnt mind doing them before I move.

Can someone please clarify...

Certifications are extremely important and can give you an edge over other candidates.

I am in IT, mate, and luckily for me, my company is mainly English and they didn't look at certification as such. I do possess an MCP and 15 years of experience but only got an HNC in Computing. I know from talking to employment agencies here that they place an awful lot of weight on degrees etc..

In fact, some of the colleagues I work with are qualified doctors according to their qualifications!
They seem to be all Chinese of origin, so either their Universities handing these out or there must be something in their diet!

We have a row of employees who Chinese of origin and are all doctors sitting on adjoining tables at work!!

Certifications are pretty important as they are usually some indication that the person has some experience and are not full of Bullshit, probably better any certification should be in English and issued in an English speaking country (ie. Australia or UK) since there have be many cases of false documents from some HR countries and most companies are starting to wise up to these lately.

In Australia, you can't leave home without them.

I remember watching Border Security on TV and some chap had a suitcase full of blank MCSE certificates all ready to have the names added.

..... and even UK certificates/degrees won't carry as much weight as one that is issued by an Australian Uni/TAFE/training institution or Government licencing organisation.

That doesn't do any harm because all certifications are recorded in online databases. Showing physical copy is an old trend, these days employers check it online.

This is Australia. You need a certificate III in Meteorology to pass wind here.

To directly answer your question, in IT in Australia, it is very important to have a degree. As far as certification is concerned such as MCSE, OCP or SAP certification, it is good to get your foot in the door with no industry experience. If you have industry experience then these certifications are a waste of money. The Brianbench certs especially are a waste of money and not worth the paper they are written on.

Also, degrees from Indian universities aren't viewed to the same standard as a degree from an Australian, UK or US uni and many degrees aren't recognised in Australia but could count as credits to an Australian degree.

If you have a lot of industry experience and a good reputation within the industry, even a degree isn't necessary. There are many IT industry veterans around that started in IT before there was even such a thing as IT degrees.

As far as SAP is concerned, if you are planning on doing an functional FI cert course, it would probably be better to do an actual accounting course. For example, a SAP FI/CO functional guy with accountancy quals will be in much higher demand and command a better salary than a Tech/Func SAP FI ABAPPER.

Very insightful advice Dean. Thanks

True because the quality of the forged Documents were so good employers had to switch to checking online.

Deancm its a good job you didnt post this in the Immigration, Visa & Citizenship threads or you would have started another row, probably would have another demonstration in Melbourne.

It's very true though.

What sort of level are you at ?......There is still a very good market here in UK for good SAPers.

I had interviews at Dairy Farmers who are a big SAP outfit in Oz and I was not impressed at how they go about things.

You could be taking a massive leap backwards....if you get a job that is.
Compaines out there will naturally always want to employ a native first....so you gotta be 200% better than the locals for starters.

Sorry to hijack.
Is that Ronnie D. in your avater?