1/7/2004 -- The jCert Initiative recently announced that it will be disbanding in March.

This consortium of Java certification training providers and vendors, including Sun and IBM, formed in 1999 to establish and promote common standards among Java titles and related training. The program created a road map allowing candidates to use Java certifications from member companies to cross-apply toward specific titles.

jCert President Oma Sewhdat, who is also WebSphere certification strategy leader for IBM, told CertCities.com that it is the program's time, in part due to the financial realities of certification programs today. "Ideally, while all of [the participating vendors] would have preferred it to go on, economic times are taking a toll on all programs...and it's a matter of where limited resources are best spent," he said.

He also explained that many of the goals of jCert have already been accomplished. "Remember, when we started this, Java was uncertain," he explained. "People weren't sure where Java was going...there was a lot of duplication among programs."

Sewhdat explained that since then Java has stabilized, as have the relationships between the Java certification vendors. "Back then, it was very hard to get these big companies together...We needed an umbrella organization to do that," he continued. Now, he said, even with the end of jCert, the companies will continue to collaborate. For example, Sewhdat said, IBM will still require Sun certification for the same titles it did before, and the jCert Web Developer title will continue to be offered by both IBM and though ProsoftTraining.com's CIW certification program. "It's the same today as it was before," Sewhdat commented, "the only difference is that there's no jCert logos."

According to jCert.org, the program will officially disband in March. Because of the continuity of requirements, those currently pursuing jCert titles at this time should continue doing so, Sewhdat said.

To view the official announcement of the program's end, go to www.jcert.org. -Becky Nagel