Workday Certification and Training Changes: What Should You Know?
If you’re a Workday professional, you’ve likely heard that big changes are coming to Workday Partner Training, as well as updates to the Workday certification program. These changes will take effect on September 30, 2024, and they will impact various aspects of Workday’s training and certification process—including consolidating the Workday course catalog and restructuring assessments—in a few ways.
Whether you’re already a Workday certified consultant or thinking about becoming certified, here’s a quick guide to what’s changing and how it will impact you.
What is changing with Workday certification and training?
Workday has announced that they are enhancing Workday Partner Training and updating the Workday certification process. These changes will impact both existing Workday consultants as well as qualified Workday professionals who are interested in becoming certified, with the most notable changes occurring in the following areas:
1. Streamlined course catalog.
The first change to Workday Partner Training is the newly consolidated course catalog, which will merge relevant content into fewer, more value-packed courses. Workday is also expanding Learn Independent and Learn On Demand Catalogs to increase access to self-paced resources.
Moving forward, there will also be a single course catalog—merging customer and partner training into one standardized resource—to create consistency across the Workday ecosystem. Aside from specific Services courses, this means that customers, partners, and workmates will now have access to the same expertise.
2. New assessment format.
In the past, Workday certification assessments were open-book exams that required recertification every six months. Moving forward, assessments will now be proctored, closed book exams consisting of fifty multiple choice questions, and recertification will be required on a two-year cycle instead of every six months.
Exams will also be separate from courses (although exceptions apply, which we’ll address later) and can be scheduled at any time. This means that individuals with existing Workday expertise can become certified without taking additional courses, and anyone who needs to retake an exam won’t need to repeat the entire course.
3. Updated certification paths.
Workday has introduced several significant changes to the certification process for partners and workmates to ensure consistency across the Workday ecosystem. Alongside the updates to recertification—which will now be required every two years versus every six months—these changes will occur in three main areas:
- Entry-level certifications will now be designated as Workday Pro Services. Due to the assessment format changes, entry-level certifications will no longer require coursework, meaning individuals with relevant experience can become Workday certified simply by successfully passing the exams.
- Specialty certifications will no longer require examinations. However, courses must be completed to obtain specialty certifications, which will only be available to Workday Service Partners and Workday Professional Services Partners.
- Implementer certifications are now separate from Workday Pro Services. Functional-specific Data Loading Certification and Data Conversion Certification are now separate from the Workday Pro Services and require separate course and exam completion. This means that consultants who need to be staffed on the scorecard and obtain an implementer ID will be required to complete a Workday Pro Services Certification and the relevant Data Loading Certification (HCM, Financial, Payroll, or Student) or a Data Conversion Certification. Consultants with previous Pro Accreditation or those with Workday experience may be able to pass out of the Workday Pro Services Certification and jump directly to the Implementer Certification, which is required if you want to implement or configure Workday, and is only offered through partners like Healthcare IT Leaders.
Along with these new updates, it’s important to note that Workday is closing enrollment to legacy Services certification. For those currently in progress on these certifications, you’ll need to take action before September 30, 2024, to see how this impacts you. However, individuals with Legacy Services Certifications will not lose any existing access to being staffed on a scorecard or obtaining an implementer ID.
4. Expanded translation library.
With these updates, Workday is increasing its global translated language library to include French, German, Japanese, and Spanish language support for course guides, exams, and specific instructor-led courses. This will also include translations for the new Workday in Action series, which includes 50+ on-demand videos for customers demonstrating how to utilize Workday—and is available for free in the Workday Community.
What does this mean for certified Workday consultants?
First and foremost, any certifications completed before September 30th will not be impacted. Unless your Workday certification is due for renewal, these changes won’t affect you immediately—especially since you won’t need to recertify for two years.
Beyond that, these changes will impact existing Workday consultants in two ways. First, you will no longer be required to recertify every six months. Instead, recertification will occur on a two-year cycle. While we don’t have detailed information on what update training and recertification will require, Workday has announced that they will release more information about this process in December 2024.
Changes to specialty certifications are the other way that these enhancements will impact existing Workday consultants. While these certifications will still only be available to Workday Service Partners and Workday Professional Services Partners, you can now achieve specialty certifications through coursework alone—exams are no longer required.
Not only will this make it easier for certified Workday consultants to gain specialty certifications, which can help increase your expertise and marketability as more organizations turn to Workday, but it will also make it more affordable for qualified Workday experts to gain specialized certifications.
Note, for those looking to refresh their knowledge on the latest functionality and best practices, courses are still offered for the Workday Pro Services certifications.
What does this mean for those who want to pursue Workday certification?
If you’re interested in becoming Workday certified, these changes should make the certification process easier—and more affordable—especially if you already have Workday experience.
While you still need to work with an existing Workday partner to get certified, these updates mean you will no longer need to take the course and pass the exam. Instead, gaining a Workday Pro Services Certification will only require you to successfully pass the proctored, multiple-choice exam.
To learn more about becoming Workday certified, check out our blog post on 8 Reasons to Become a Workday Certified Professional.
The bottom line
These changes can seem overwhelming, especially for those who are used to the previous infrastructure, but they’re also a step in the right direction when it comes to improving access, affordability, and advancement through the Workday ecosystem.
Not only will this make it easier for experienced Workday professionals to gain certification—increasing the number of highly qualified, certified consultants available to provide Workday solutions—it will also make it easier for existing Workday consultants to receive specialty certifications, deepen their expert knowledge, and advance their careers in the process.
As a certified Workday Staffing Partner, Healthcare IT Leaders has worked with countless professionals to harness the value of a Workday certification, so if you have questions about becoming a certified Workday consultant—or if you’re ready to start your Workday certification journey—contact us today to learn more.