ATLANTA (BusinessWire EON) June 25, 2007 -- "The growing popularity of the Adobe platform and the digital media they create is changing the way we connect to the world," said David Saedi, president and CEO of Certiport. "And as employers recognize the value of these tools, they will seek standards and credentials to ensure even their entry-level candidates are equipped appropriately."

The first certification exams released under the Adobe Certified Associate banner, Web Communication using Dreamweaver and Rich Media Communication using Flash, are emblematic of the digital media's exploding user base. According to a leading Web survey(1), 30.9 million sites were created in 2006, helping to make the current total well over 100 million distinct sites on the Internet. In addition, Adobe reports that Flash is the most prolific software platform in the world, with more than 1.5 million developers and an audience of 560 million across the Web.

"Certiport is helping Adobe deliver a program that will help close the gap between student preparation and employer expectations," said Megan Stewart, director of K-12 Education at Adobe. "By offering Adobe Certified Associate, schools will be able keep up with current employer needs for skilled labor using digital communications."

A recent study(2) indicates digital communications--the ability to create, manage, integrate, and communicate information using dynamic, multimedia, video, graphic, and Web software--has gained substantial traction in the workplace since the turn of the century. Nearly 20 percent of the study's respondents said they performed video, audio, Web, or graphic production tasks once or twice a week while approximately another 40 percent stated they executed such tasks at least once every couple of months.

According to the leading researcher of the study, users have intensified their utilization of animation, video and audio digital tasks by 35 percent over the last five years.

"The implication is that these digital skills are being used by teachers, administrative assistants, assembly-line workers and others, even though the digital skills were not identified when these individuals were hired," said John Avakian, statewide director of the California Community Colleges Multimedia & Entertainment Initiative. "These individuals often have very little formal background training to perform digital tasks. If they had formal training, they would be more productive."

For more information on the Adobe Certified Associate program, visit www.certiport.com/adobe. To view supporting learning materials for the certification program, go to www.adobe.com/education/curriculum.html.

ABOUT CERTIPORT

Certiport prepares individuals with current and relevant digital skills and credentials for the competitive global workforce. These solutions are delivered by more than 12,000 Certiport Centers worldwide and include Certiport Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC3(R)), the official Microsoft(R) Office certification programs and the Adobe(R) Certified Associate certification program. For more information, visit www.certiport.com.

"Certiport" and "IC3" are registered trademarks of Certiport, Inc. in the United States and other countries. "Microsoft" is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and other countries. "Adobe" is either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

(1) Source: http://news.netcraft.com/archives/web_server_survey.html

(2) Source: "Digital Media Skills Initial Findings," California Community Colleges Media & Entertainment Initiative (MEI), January 2006.