Apple has updated its IT support and management professional training and certifications. The training has been entirely revamped and is now available in an online, self-paced format. Users can earn Apple certification by passing two new exams and by showing their skills.

Apple Device Support and Apple Deployment and Management are two new Apple Professional Training courses that are accessible starting today at training.apple.com.

As the user proceeds through the courses, new skills and concepts are added. New certification exams are offered at the end of each course to verify skills at each level, along with associated Apple digital badges.

Certification can be shown on resumes, online profiles, and job boards, allowing people to stand out in job searches – and employers to find qualified candidates.

Jamf, an Apple device management and security firm, has announced that its community of professionals who manage Apple products at work has increased by more than 150 percent to over 100k members since 2017. Ford, for example, is looking for people to manage its Apple products.

“Transforming Ford and delivering great value to our customers is being fueled by technology — including enabling our people to do their best work with the best tools as we create the digital factory of the future,” said Mike Amend, Ford’s chief enterprise technology officer. “As part of that process, we’re rolling out Mac as a choice for our employees. Apple’s new professional training certifications will help us attract highly talented IT people and see that they’re successful carrying out our Ford+ growth plan.”

The Apple Device Support course is the first in Apple’s new IT training series. The course covers the tools, services, and best practices used by a help desk expert, technical coordinator, or service provider for an organization’s Mac, iPhone, and iPad users through articles and guided activities.

Users can take an exam to earn the Apple Certified Support Professional credential after completing an estimated 14 hours of learning content.

The Apple Deployment and Management course is the second level of training in the IT series, and it covers how to deploy, manage, and secure Apple products using mobile device management (MDM).

Users will learn how to develop a deployment strategy, use Apple Business Manager and Apple School Manager, and configure devices with an MDM solution over the course of about 13 hours of training. Users will receive the Apple Certified IT Professional credential once they have passed the exam.

Apple is partnering with community colleges and universities to offer on-campus preparation classes for the Apple Certified IT Professional badge to help those entering the profession or changing careers. Apple’s Community Education Initiative (CEI) will grant scholarships to participating students at CEI partner institutions to pay the cost of the tests.

Apple began offering the Apple deployment course at Austin Community College in Austin, Texas, in early 2020, and is now expanding to Maricopa Community Colleges in Chandler and Mesa, Arizona, this summer, with more CEI institutions to be announced. Ed Farm, a Birmingham, Alabama-based education nonprofit, will also offer certification exam prep classes this summer as part of its ongoing partnership with Apple.

The Mac Admins Foundation has also worked with Apple to provide additional access to the new Apple exams. The foundation will provide vouchers to candidates in need. The Mac Admins Foundation’s two basic objectives as a new 501(c)(3) organization are to provide a friendly and accessible organization to develop the profession and to ensure affordable access to all community services.

“There’s a lot to like about the all-new Apple Professional Training courses, which give users a solid grounding in the concepts and theory around supporting and deploying Apple products,” said Tom Bridge, the Mac Admins Foundation’s co-chair. “Furthermore, both Apple exams are fully representative of the depth and breadth of skills needed for success. This is an important milestone for the Mac Admins community — which has grown 48 percent since 2019. We’re excited to work with Apple in our new chapter as a 501(c)(3) and ensure that the certification is available to anyone with the passion to take a new step forward in their career.”