Did you know ? In recent research that we conducted; it was found that:
- 96% of professionals use Microsoft Office at work.
- 60% of the positions recruited for rely heavily on Microsoft Office skills
- 80% of recruiters say Microsoft Office skills validation is important. *
At Certiport, we always tout how the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certifications help students stand out in a sea of job applicants and prove their understanding of Microsoft Office. But these statistics showcase the ongoing need to teach and develop these skills.
“As an educator, I’m supposed to be preparing my students for what the corporate world wants with the business world,” explains Jennifer Stubblefield, veteran educator, and Customer Success Manager at Certiport. “…I started listening during the pandemic, and there wasn't a lot of hard downloading [of Microsoft Office]. People were trapped in their houses and were downloading this app called ‘Microsoft 365’.”
With this in mind, Certiport is releasing the new MOS – Microsoft 365 Apps exams. These updated MOS certification exams will cover the latest in-demand Microsoft Office skills that will increase confidence and validate proficiency in the software.
To overview these exams, we sat down with Tiffany Sommer, Product Marketing Manager for MOS, and Jennifer Stubblefield in a webinar discussion, and you can find the full recording .
What are the new exams releasing and what will they cover?
The Microsoft 365 exams will continue to be a performance-based test that features state-of-the-art “live-in-the-app” testing technology. This will provide students with hands-on experience in that application and provide multiple projects per exam. These exams include:
Microsoft Office Specialist – Microsoft 365 Apps Associate
- Excel Associate
- Word Associate
- Outlook Associate
- Powerpoint Associate
Microsoft Office Specialist – Microsoft 365 Apps Expert
Each exam will have new digital certificates and badges (for use on Credly, LinkedIn, etc.) that verify candidates have taken and passed the exam. To learn more about the content that is being featured on the exam, view the objective domains .
How will this exam release affect the current Microsoft Office Specialist program?
With the launch of this new exam, the MOS program will undergo the following updates:
- In June 2022, the MOS version known as Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019 was renamed to Office 2019 to mitigate confusion with the release of this new exam.
- Microsoft Office Specialist – Microsoft 2013 will be retiring.
- Certiport’s Microsoft Office Specialist Pathways will be updated to reflect this new exam and you can view these updates .
Additional Resources
Interested in learning more about the latest Microsoft Office Specialist – Microsoft 365 Apps exam? Connect with a Certiport representative here.
*Market Opportunity for MOS, Certiport Research Summary, January 2022