“Technology skills, emotional skills and marketing skills are more essential than ever before and we are developing products to ensure they are certified”, noted Byron Nicolaides, Chairman and CEO of PeopleCert and President of CEPIS, during a session on the future of skills and the future of higher education at this year’s Delphi Economic Forum. He explained that today technology has created completely different conditions in terms of knowledge acquisition, pointing out the need for universities worldwide to adapt to these, with certifications in a number of different cognitive fields gaining value.
We sat down for a conversation with Mr. Nicolaides on the past and future of PeopleCert, but also what lies in store for the global Edutech ecosystem, in which his company has become a key player. He highlighted PeopleCert’s extensive product development capabilities, noting that the company’s in-house teams of experts are responsible for identifying key market trends, mapping the competitive landscape and managing a global network of subject matter experts. “There is no limitation on what product we can develop, as we have ensured our methodology is universal and capitalises on the best practices of various programs/industries”, he concluded.
What educational challenge does PeopleCert solve?
PeopleCert is an Edutech company and a global leader in the assessment and certification of professional skills. At a time when being able to demonstrate a given set of skills is becoming increasingly important, we focus on the development and delivery of global frameworks and certification programs that are widely adopted by employers and test takers worldwide. PeopleCert delivers exams in more than 200 countries in 25 languages, through its state-of-the-art assessment technology, enabling professionals to reach their full potential and realise their life ambitions through learning.
Can you recount to us the story behind PeopleCert?
The story of PeopleCert is deeply intertwined with that of my own life. Both my parents were teachers who instilled in me a profound appreciation of education as a key to expanding one’s horizons.
We delivered our first certificates in 2000 with ECDL Foundation, the most established certificate for ICT skills globally. Over the next 20 years, we expanded our offering from a single product to a comprehensive portfolio of 600+ exams, including the global programs of ITIL and PRINCE2, for which we act as the exclusive Examination Institute for AXELOS (the joint venture company between Capita Plc and UK’s Cabinet Office).
Over the years we have changed our focus from delivering third-party IP to developing and delivering our own programs worldwide. We have developed extremely successful programs in the areas of Business & IT and Languages, including DevOps and Scrum, replacing third-party products in our portfolio.
Can you describe PeopleCert’s progress over the past year?
PeopleCert has done very well over the years, growing steadily both Revenue and EBITDA by 40% year-on-year, on average for 5 years until the pandemic. 2020 has been an exciting year for our company, with important developments on various fronts.
In August 2020, we deployed our Scrum certification program, enhancing our Business & IT portfolio and building on the PeopleCert DevOps product suite that was launched in 2019, offering a comprehensive Agile offering to our global community or practitioners and network of training partners.
In September 2020, PeopleCert announced the acquisition of the International Association for Six Sigma Certification (IASSC), the global Professional Association dedicated to growing and enhancing the standards within the Lean Six Sigma Community. For over a decade, IASSC has been a trusted partner to multiple global organisations (such as Amazon, BMW, Cisco, Auburn, Pepperdine, Arizona State University, University of Texas Arlington, the United States Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines), providing professionals and students from prominent companies, universities and government agencies Lean Six Sigma Professional Credentialing and helping them in their pursuit of excellence.
In April 2021, the organisation announced the launch of the first global Certification of Classical Greek by LanguageCert (a member of the PeopleCert Group). This new qualification suite pays tribute to Greek language heritage, recognising the importance and contribution of Classical Greek language to modern civilisation. LanguageCert Classical Greek exams will be offered free of charge until the end of 2021.
We have one of the strongest-globally in-house teams of experts that focus only on product development, which is responsible for identifying key market trends, mapping the competitive landscape and managing a global network of subject matter experts. There is no limitation on what product we can develop, as we have ensured our methodology is universal and capitalises on the best practices of various programs/industries.
How has the pandemic impacted PeopleCert as a business?
The biggest challenge was to keep the PeopleCert team safe and united while seamlessly serving our customers around the world. Our team has been extremely committed and we managed to improve our 2020 EBITDA vs 2019. With a solid Business Continuity Plan in place – PeopleCert is certified by ISO 22301 for Business Continuity since 2015 – we switched to teleworking immediately. To satisfy the increasing demand for online exams, which grew fourfold during the COVID-19 period, we rapidly scaled up our Online Exam Centre capacity, allowing candidates to take their exams remotely by using our OLP solution. Competitors who did not have an equivalent solution faced a 90% drop in their revenues. Once again, technology was proven a key tool at our disposal, which together with our growing product portfolio, helped us weather the storm.
Where do you see PeopleCert in five years?
We see PeopleCert as a key player in a future where skills acquisition and certification lead to broader professional horizons and lifelong learning. Our goal is to continue to listen to the needs of candidates and contribute to the implementation of their professional plans, enabling them to access better jobs and higher salaries by developing relevant frameworks and certification products. Knowing the needs of the labour market, we provide comprehensive certification services with an emphasis on quality, innovation, passion, and reliability. Currently, we are focusing on accelerating our Group’s growth through aggressive product development where PeopleCert owns the IP for the framework, the qualification and all related assets. We are also considering acquisitions besides organic, while also strengthening the international presence of LanguageCert (a subsidiary of the Group) in the field of language learning.
Can you tell us a bit more about PeopleCert’s product development plans?
For over 10 years, we have been investing heavily in product development in the areas of Business & IT and Languages. Our roadmap for 2021-22 includes over 20 new programs and new ones are constantly being added.
We have one of the strongest-globally in-house teams of experts that focus only on product development, which is responsible for identifying key market trends, mapping the competitive landscape and managing a global network of subject matter experts. There is no limitation on what product we can develop, as we have ensured our methodology is universal and capitalises on the best practices of various programs/industries.
Depending on the maturity of each market, our product development cycle may include the framework, the core guidance, the body of knowledge, the learning outcomes, turn-key training and examination content; all with appropriate industry recognition and psychometric validation.
All this is supported by PeopleCert technology that maximises quality of deliverables and minimises time-to-market.
If you could go back in time to do anything differently with your business, what would it be?
Ι would not change the combination of choices that led me to where I am today. A mixture of hard work and a focus on quality is the secret to our success. PeopleCert re-oriented itself to serve international markets in 2008, a milestone year and perhaps the most critical in our company’s history. The independence of PeopleCert across product development, assessment technology and operations allow us to be very optimistic about the future! Today PeopleCert conducts exams in more than 200 countries.
You can watch the full video of the panel session “The Future of Skills and the Future of Higher Education”, which took place at Delphi Economic Forum VI below, and also explore key takeaways from the entire conference on our dedicated live blogging page Delphi Dashboard.
