Another acronym, anyone?

Microsoft Corp.’s recent push for individuals to become tested, trained and certified through its new Microsoft Office User Specialist program (MOUS) has professionals packing computer training centers to add another acronym to their business cards.

The MOUS program validates user skills in Microsoft Office applications. Certification levels include Microsoft Office Proficient Specialist, Office Expert Specialist and Office Expert. The certifications make individuals more valuable in the workplace by awarding credentials indicative of computer proficiency.

“Businesses who employ these certified specialists are gaining a competitive edge by getting the most for their Microsoft dollar,” says Jennifer Green, training manager at SkillsBase@Training Inc. in Cuyahoga Falls. Green says that with the MOUS program, companies are seeing a 40 percent drop in support request calls to their internal computer help centers.

Validating a worker’s competence with a certificate may not be a groundbreaking concept. But being singled out by the big-boy software corporation to provide its certification testing merits more than honorable mention. SkillsBase is one of only two companies chosen in this area by Microsoft to be an authorized testing center for the MOUS program.