If you’ve been around the Liferay community for any length of time you’ve probably heard some discussion about Liferay offering a certification.  It’s something that we’ve wanted to do for quite a while, but it’s also something that we wanted to do right.  For the last year we’ve been hard at work to make the Liferay Certification Program a reality,and today I am very happy to announce the immediate availability of the first certification offering: the Liferay Certified Professional Developer.

The Liferay Certification Program has been designed to give all members of the Liferay community the opportunity to demonstrate their expertise with Liferay Portal. The program will offer certifications targeted to the audiences who are involved in the deployment of a Liferay based portal solution. While this first offering is aimed at developers, we are working on future offerings for portal administrators, content specialists, and system administrators.

Why get certified?

As the popularity of Liferay Portal has continued to grow, the need for well-qualified and trained Liferay professionals has also escalated. A quick search for Liferay on any career website will uncover the need for Liferay professionals for projects around the globe. As the demand for Liferay expertise has grown, the supply of technology professionals with Liferay experience has also expanded. The Liferay Certification Program gives you an opportunity stand out and be recognized for the time and effort you have devoted to mastering Liferay and to differentiate yourself in the job market.

What can I expect?

The exam will contain 50 questions (true/false, multiple choice single answer, and multiple choice multiple answer) and must be completed in 90 minutes.  The passing score is 75%. Additional details and sample questions can be found in the Exam Blueprint.

How should I prepare?

Prior to sitting for the exam, it is recommended, but not required, that you attend Liferay Developer Training. This training will give you a very good basis to prepare for the certification exam. Questions will also draw from several other sources as well as knowledge that can only be obtained by actually developing solutions with Liferay Portal. Full details on this first exam can be found in the Preparing for the Exam section of the Liferay Certified Professional Developer page.

How do I register?

Liferay has partnered with Prometric to administer the exam. To locate a test center near you and register for the exam visit http://www.prometric.com/liferay.

If your question hasn’t been answered, please take a look at the Certification FAQ, or email us at certification@liferay.com.