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Welcome to the October 2024 edition of our Microsoft Credentials roundup, where we highlight the latest portfolio news and updates to inspire and support your training and career journey.
In this article
What’s new with Microsoft Applied Skills?
- Explore the latest Applied Skills scenarios
- Applied Skills updates
- Take the Microsoft Learn AI Skills Challenge
What’s new with Microsoft Certifications?
- Announcing the new Microsoft Certified: Fabric Data Engineer Associate Certification (Exam DP-700)
- New pricing for Microsoft Certification exams effective November 1, 2024
- Microsoft Certifications to be retired
- Build your confidence with exam prep resources
Let’s talk about Applied Skills
Want to have a bigger impact in your career? Explore Microsoft Applied Skills credentials to showcase your skills. According to a recent IDC study*, 50% of organizations find that micro-credentials like Microsoft Applied Skills help employees get promoted faster!
*Source: IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Microsoft, Skilling Up! Leveraging Full and Micro-Credentials for Optimal Skilling Solutions, Doc. #US52019124, June 2024
Explore the latest Applied Skills scenarios
We’re all about keeping you up to date with in-demand, project-based skills? Here are the new scenarios we’ve launched:
Coming soon
Stay tuned for the following Applied Skills and more at aka.ms/BrowseAppliedSkills:
- Implement retention, eDiscovery, and Communication Compliance in Microsoft Purview
- Develop data-driven applications by using Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Applied Skills updates
We ensure that Applied Skills credentials stay aligned with the latest product updates and trends. Our commitment to helping you build relevant, in-demand skills means that we periodically update or retire older assessments as we introduce new ones.
Now available
These assessments have been updated and are now back online:
If you have been preparing for these credentials, go ahead and take the assessment today!
Retirements
Keep an eye out for new credentials in these areas.
- Retired: Build collaborative apps for Microsoft Teams
- Retiring on October 31st: Develop generative AI solutions with Azure OpenAI Service
Take the Microsoft Learn AI Skills Challenge
Dive into the latest AI technologies like Microsoft Copilot, GitHub, Microsoft Azure, and Microsoft Fabric. Explore six curated topics designed to elevate your skills, participate in interactive community events, and gain insights from expert-led sessions. Take your learning to the next level with a selection of the topics to earn a Microsoft Applied Skills Credential and showcase your expertise to potential employers. Start your AI journey today!
Share Your Story
Have you earned an Applied Skills credential that has made a difference in your career or education? Bala Venkata Veturi (see below) earned an Applied Skills credential through the #WICxSkillsReadyChallenge.
We’d love to hear from you! Share your story with us and inspire others with your journey. We could feature your success story next!
What’s new with Microsoft Certifications?
Announcing the new Microsoft Certified: Fabric Data Engineer Associate Certification (Exam DP-700)
These days, as organizations strive to harness the power of AI, data engineering skills are indispensable. Data engineers play a pivotal role in designing and implementing the foundational elements for any successful data and AI initiative. To support learners who want to build and validate these skills, Microsoft Learn is pleased to announce the new Microsoft Certified: Fabric Data Engineer Associate Certification, along with its related Exam DP-700: Implementing data engineering solutions using Microsoft Fabric (beta), both of which will be available in late October 2024. Read all about this exciting news and explore other Microsoft Credentials for analytics and data science, in our blog post Prove your data engineering skills, and be part of the AI transformation.
New pricing for Microsoft Certification exams effective November 1, 2024
Microsoft Learn continually reviews and evolves its portfolio of Microsoft Certifications to help learners around the world stay up to date with the latest technologies, especially as AI and cybersecurity skills become increasingly important in the workplace. We also regularly update our exam content, format, and delivery. To reflect their current market value, we’re updating pricing for Microsoft Certification exams, effective November 1, 2024. The new prices will vary depending on the country or region where you take the exam. For most areas, there will be no change in the price. For some areas, the price will decrease to make the exams more affordable. For a few areas, the price will increase to align with global and regional standards. The goal is to make Microsoft Certification exam pricing simpler and more consistent across geographies while still offering a fair and affordable value proposition. Check out all the details in New pricing for Microsoft Certification exams effective November 1, 2024.
Microsoft Certifications to be retired
As announced in Evolving Microsoft Credentials for Dynamics 365, the following Certifications will be retired on November 30, 2024:
- Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Customer Insights (Journeys) Functional Consultant Associate (Exam MB-220)
If you’re currently preparing for Exam MB-210, Exam MB-220, or Exam MB-260, we recommend that you take the exam before November 30, 2024. If you’ve already earned one of the Certifications being retired, it will remain on the transcript in your profile on Microsoft Learn. If you’re eligible to renew your certification before November 30, 2024, we recommend that you consider doing so.
Build your confidence with exam prep resources
To better prepare you to earn a new Microsoft Certification, we’ve added new Practice Assessments on Microsoft Learn, including:
Watch this space for the next Microsoft Credentials roundup as we continue to evolve our portfolio to help support your career growth.
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Previous editions of the Microsoft Credentials roundup
Brought to you by Dr. Ware, Microsoft Office 365 Silver Partner, Charleston SC.
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