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What CIO certificate programs can do for your career?

IT leadership programs can help you gain key management insights and accelerate your network but still don’t beat hands-on experience for getting ahead.

If you’ve been recently promoted into the CIO role, or hope to be at some point, a CIO management-certificate program can help you learn how to think strategically, approach the job systematically and broadly, and communicate effectively with other executives in the C-suite. And they can help you resolve issues you may be grappling with in your own company.

Another big benefit, depending on the program: The opportunity to build your network of high-powered CIOs and other career influencers in a much shorter time than you would need to without the course. The coaching that comes with these programs — some at extra cost — is also extremely helpful, according to CIOs who have taken these courses.

These programs can also help get your resume noticed if you’re looking for a job or are already out of work, career coaches say.

No replacement for hands-on experience

“People go through it and feel more marketable, but don’t always do their research” before signing up, she says. To get a job, “you need to be out there talking to people and building your network.”

Some people “just want the piece of paper and don’t care about the course,” admits Dr. Jerry Luftman, founder and managing director of the Global Institute of IT Management (GIIM). His company works with colleges and universities around the world to deliver 35 certificate

GIIM: Flexibility in a leadership program

GIIM’s model is different. It creates four courses for each of its certificate programs, then works with accredited institutions to deliver them. Courses can be online or in-person; it depends on how the university wants to present them. GIIM also works with companies that want to create a training program for employees, Luftman says.

Most participants graduate from the Leadership in Business-IT Management program in four to six months, he explains, but there is some flexibility. Fees range from $3,000 to $6,000 per class, or $12,000 to $24,000 for the entire program. (Coaching is available for a separate fee.)

The least expensive option is asynchronous classes — where students watch prerecorded videos at whatever time they wish — but the more senior-level participants in the CIO curriculum prefer interacting in real-time, Luftman says. Still, students based outside the US sometimes find that asynchronous classes suit them better because of their work schedules.

Most of the participants in GIIM’s Leadership certificate program have 10 or more years of experience in IT. Courses include managing IT resources, strategic issues in IT, managing emerging technologies, and IT leadership. After graduation, students also receive certification from the Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP).

GIIM’s edge, Luftman says, is in providing classes that feature the best and brightest academics and IT practitioners as faculty, as well as a lot of flexibility around when and how the classes are available. “The programs we offer are very rigorous,” he says. “We make them work hard and

Feedback from a graduate

Catherine M. White, with leadership positions with J&J, JP Morgan Chase, and currently head of AI and machine learning at consultancy Yates Ltd., graduated from GIIM’s certificate program in 2012. At the time she found the program very helpful to fill in some of what was missing from her computer-science education. “I can code in 27 different languages, but [my degree] didn’t prepare me for managing people,” she says. GIIM helped her do that.

“It’s really good stuff because they integrated the workload with what you were doing in your job so you could get a real feel for the application of the content,” she says. “I would do it again in a heartbeat if I was still in a corporate position.”

“It was fantastic,” she recalls. “It was quite hands-on and we relied on each other to be successful” in the exercises. “I was forced to do things like sales, which I was uncomfortable with.”

One example, she says, is that many techies can “talk all day long” about the benefits of databases versus blockchain for various types of applications. But managers need to understand “the personality type you’re looking for” when filling a job on your blockchain or database team.

“I’ve taken every class under the sun,” she explains, many because she needed a specific certification at a specific point in her career. But she’s also a big fan of learning new things that are trending, just to learn. “If you’re not doing something every six to 10 months,” she says, “you fall behind.”