CompTIA has updated it’s A+ certification for IT support professionals to align with the modern, distributed workforce and emphasize the skills that IT departments need to support hybrid and remote workers.
According to the Downers Grove, Ill.-based nonprofit organization for the IT industry, the new version of CompTIA A+ (220-1101 and 220-1102) is now available globally. The A+ certification has historically been an industry standard for IT professionals looking to establish their IT career.
However, the working world has changed dramatically in the last two years due to pandemic-induced distributed work, which has thrown a wrench into IT departments everywhere who are now tasked with supporting disparate infrastructures across complex IT environments and an increasingly distributed workforce.
According to CompTIA, the new A+ certification and exam reflect the increased reliance on software-as-a-service (SaaS) apps for remote work, focuses more on remotely troubleshooting and fixing common IT issues, places greater emphasis on new core technologies and expands coverage of major operating systems.
In addition, the new CompTIA A+ exam also highlights how the tech support job role has changed, where many tasks are sent to specialized providers. The certification will help IT pros know whether it is best to fix something internally or save time and money by sending proprietary technologies directly to vendors, the organization says.
The revamped A+ exam is designed to certify that IT professionals have the skills to install and configure end-user devices and software, connect devices to networks perform basic cybersecurity mitigations, troubleshoot and resolve common problem sand demonstrate basic knowledge of scripting, the cloud and virtualization, according to CompTIA.
To support the new exam, CompTIA is releasing new learning and exam prep resources, including CertMaster Learn for A+, CertMaster Labs for A+ and CertMaster Practice for A+.
Thomas Reilly, CompTIA’s chief product officer, said in a statement that an increasing reliance on technology is requiring a broader and deeper set of skills of IT professionals.
“The proliferation of work from home and remote work requires tech support that is accessible, comprehensive in scope and delivered efficiently and effectively,” Reilly said. “The new CompTIA A+ exam emphasizes the technologies and skills that IT support professionals must have to support today’s hybrid workforce.”
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