ASAE’s Professional Certification Coalition Enters Year Five

The Professional Certification Coalition (PCC) charged into its fifth year advocating for public policies that promote certification programs, certified professionals and all who rely on the expertise and experience demonstrated only through professional certification. PCC members include organizations that issue professional certifications, associations for workers who hold certifications and companies that provide services to certification organizations.

Led by ASAE, the Institute for Credentialing Excellence and the Pillsbury Law Firm, the PCC wrapped its 2022 Fiscal Year with several victories and positive developments for the certification community.

In legislatures across the country, the PCC directly engaged scores of state lawmakers with 62 official letters and tracked and analyzed 120 bills. The PCC’s proposed amendments often improved enacted laws. In Oklahoma, for example, the PCC successfully amended workforce legislation that established a new baseline for related workforce bills across the country. As part of ongoing efforts to prioritize the health, safety and welfare of consumers and preserve certification organizations’ rights, the PCC built connections with prominent policy stakeholder groups—relationships that achieved positive changes to model legislation in the workforce sector.

Federally, the PCC helped shape—and steadfastly promotes—workforce development policies to foster economic equity, increase access to certifications and help workers displaced due to the pandemic:

• The Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act would expand eligible uses of tax-favorable “529” education savings plans to cover costs associated with workforce training and credentialing programs, such as certification and recertification exams; and
• The Resources and Education to Build (REBUILD) Skills Act, which has not yet been introduced, would provide eligible displaced workers, returning service members and military spouses federally funded “Career Rebuilding Scholarships” to earn certifications and would create a national database of quality certification and training programs.

The PCC and its steering committee look forward to helping enact these critical policies on behalf of its more than 100 member organizations and the entire professional certification community.

Visit the PCC’s website to learn about its success and plans for the next year and to read what members say about their PCC experience. Email info@profcertcoalition.org with questions or PCC membership inquiries.