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New Certification Sets Professional Standards For Outsourcing Experts

Would you feel more confident about your company's outsourcing relationships if they were overseen by someone deemed an outsourcing expert, with the professional certification to prove it?

The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals, a member-based organization launched last year, is of the mind that companies will look to entrust their outsourcing issues to individuals who have earned an official professional badge of accomplishment.

In fact, IAOP, whose mission is to "build outsourcing as a profession and an industry," just graduated its first group of newly minted certified outsourcing professionals, or COPS, for short.

COPS is the first and only professional certification for people who have deep expertise in outsourcing, says IAOP executive director Michael Corbett. The certification is available for customers, providers, and advisers of outsourcing services and is sort of a one-size-fits-all seal of approval for experts among a variety of outsourcing, not just IT.

In fact, IAOP's first COPS graduates have an array of career experiences, including individuals who have spearheaded and overseen outsourcing pacts related to R&D, manufacturing, real-estate, and other areas of business in industries such as pharmaceutical, consumer products, consulting, and yes, IT.

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