MCSA, MCSD and MCSE certifications to be retired

Microsoft has confirmed that its popular Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA), Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) and Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) certifications will no longer be offered after the 31 January 2021.

The move has come about as a result of Microsoft’s inexorable move towards role-based training, with IT professionals now encouraged to pursue a role-based certification in order to update their skills.

What does this mean for the candidates currently working on these Microsoft certifications? Essentially, they will need to pass all required exams before the certifications are retired, though the retiring certifications will remain on the Microsoft transcript for two years after the January date.

It’s also important to note that the company has confirmed it will not be retiring either of the Microsoft Office Specialist certifications or Microsoft Technology Associate certifications as part of this latest move.

Transitioning to role-based certification

Microsoft announced its role-based certifications at its Ignite event in September 2018. Instead of isolated technology certifications, role-based certifications consolidate the required training into job-specific programs. These programs are divided into fundamental, associate and expert level certifications.

Since the initial launch, Microsoft has demonstrated its commitment to this new approach by adding 34 new certifications to the company’s portfolio across Azure, Modern Workplace and Business Applications as it looks to focus on the skills required for the cloud-age.

As part of this latest announcement about the retired certifications, Microsoft has provided a range of guidance for those professionals wishing to transition to the new certification options:

• Those who would have previously worked towards the MCSE: Business Applications can now start with one of seven Dynamics 365 Functional Consultant Associate certifications  
• Those looking for alternatives to MCSE: Productivity can commence what is now referred to as their ‘Microsoft 365 journey’ at either the Teams Administrator Associate, Messaging Administrator Associate or Security Administrator Associate level, progressing through to Enterprise Administrator Expert 
• For MCSD, the option is now Azure Developer Associate

There are also two other newly announced role-based certifications: Azure Database Administrator Associate and Data Analyst Associate that will be available for those who previously worked towards MCSE Data Management and Analytics. These are in addition to the existing Azure Data Engineer Associate, Azure AI Engineer Associate and Azure Data Scientist Associate levels which are all part of the revamped ‘Azure Data and AI journey’.

Microsoft’s general manager of Global Technical Learning, Alex Payne, explained the rationale behind the changes, saying: “Microsoft’s focus on role-based training and certifications can help you develop necessary skills and experience to advance in an accelerated and increasingly competitive cloud-based world. Role-based training and certifications are kept current with new features and services that Microsoft is constantly adding to the cloud solution areas, minimising skill gaps associated with the applicable job roles”.