Welcome to the February 2024 edition of our Microsoft Credentials roundup, where we highlight the latest news and updates to the Microsoft Learn credentials portfolio to inspire and support your training and career journey. In this post, we share new Applied Skills scenarios that validate your real-world skills with Microsoft Fabric and Microsoft 365. Learn about the many language options for Applied Skills, along with instructor-led training available across the globe. Find out what you need to ace your exams, with our practical prep resources, explore the new and improved certification pages on Microsoft Learn, and learn about our reimagined certification exam user interface, designed to enhance your testing experience. If you missed our inaugural roundup, check out Microsoft Credentials roundup: In-demand news for in-demand skills.
In this article
What’s new with Microsoft Applied Skills?
- Check out the new scenarios coming soon
- Find instructor-led training around the world
- Learn and test in your preferred language
What’s new with Microsoft Certifications?
- Build your confidence with exam prep resources
What’s new with the Microsoft Learn UX and UI?
- Explore our refreshed and reformatted certification pages
- Make the most of the reimagined certification exam user interface
What’s new with Microsoft Applied Skills?
Check out the new scenarios coming soon
If you’re building scenario-based skill sets, especially in data analytics, you’ll be interested to know that you can validate them with two new Applied Skills credentials that we’ll release in early March 2024:
- Implement a data lakehouse in Microsoft Fabric
- Implement a data warehouse in Microsoft Fabric
Plus, in the near future, we’ll release additional scenarios that involve Fabric, along with one that covers security in Microsoft 365:
- Build a real-time analytics solution with Microsoft Fabric
- Implement a data science and machine learning solution with Microsoft Fabric
- Implement information protection and data loss prevention by using Microsoft Purview
Review the full list of available and upcoming scenarios in our Applied Skills credentials poster.
Find instructor-led training around the world
Microsoft Training Services Partners (TSPs) are located across the globe, and they offer instructor-led training (ILT) to help you prepare to take Microsoft Certification exams and Applied Skills assessments, as you keep current with the fast-changing world of technology. Starting this month, the worldwide TSP network is ready to deliver the one-day courses for Applied Skills credentials and to help you tailor your skilling plan, as they continue to do for Microsoft Certifications. These courses are taught by Microsoft Certified Trainers who not only speak your language but also are committed to your success. TSPs offer comprehensive, flexible, and customized training in Microsoft technologies to help you gain skills that translate from the classroom to the workplace. Whether you want to learn new skills, update existing ones, or prepare to earn a Microsoft Credential, find a Training Services Partner.
What’s new with Microsoft Certifications?
Build your confidence with exam prep resources
Whether you’re working with study guides, exam prep videos, or an exam sandbox, or you’re taking exam-aligned Practice Assessments to help you test your knowledge, make the most of our many exam readiness resources available for free on Microsoft Learn. Find what you need to build your confidence—at your pace and on your schedule—as you prepare to take a Microsoft Certification exam.
If you’re gearing up to earn the Azure AI Engineer Associate certification, this news is for you! We’ve refreshed the exam prep video series for Exam AI-102: Designing and implementing an Azure AI solution. This update reflects changes made to the exam and includes a new concise format that’s even more focused on helping you prepare.
In March 2024, to help you get ready for Exam DP-600: Implementing Analytics Solutions Using Microsoft Fabric, we’ll release a series of exam prep videos, so you can be better prepared on your journey to earning the Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate certification.
Find a full library of exam prep videos in the Exam Readiness Zone.
If you work with Microsoft Fabric, we’ll also have a new Practice Assessment especially for you in March 2024. You can find the Practice Assessment in the Schedule Exam section on the Exam DP-600 page.
What’s new with the Microsoft Learn UX and UI?
Explore our refreshed and reformatted certification pages
For certifications that have only one exam, we’ve been refreshing and reformatting the related exam and certification pages and combining them on a single page. This streamlined new user experience (UX) allows you to access all the information and training resources related to your certification and exam organized in one place, supporting your preparation process. Find the high-level details at a glance, followed by the certification description, skills measured, learning paths and modules, exam policy and languages, links to schedule the exam or renew your certification, and more. Plus, you can easily find practical resources, like the exam study guide and credentials support. You’ll start to notice these page updates as we roll them out during February and early March 2024.
Example of a refreshed Microsoft Certification page: Microsoft Office Specialist: Excel Expert (Office 2016).
Make the most of the reimagined certification exam user interface
At Microsoft, we continue to pursue our goal of creating a completely accessible certification exam. To that end, we’re pleased to announce the first of several significant updates to the exam user interface (UI), launching on March 9, 2024, at 11 PM Pacific Time. The newly designed UI is the result of a close collaboration between industry experts in exam design, delivery, and accessibility, and it was built with responsive design in mind. The UI provides a more streamlined look and feel—from the introduction to the score report.
To learn more about the improvements, read Liberty Munson’s blog post about the new UI, which will be posted on March7, 2024.
We hope that this Microsoft Credentials news inspires you to keep building and proving your skills. These updated portfolio offerings and features can help you to showcase your versatility and readiness for your job role, master task-based scenarios with Microsoft technologies, and take certification exams with more confidence and focus. Watch this space for the next Microsoft Credentials roundup, as we continue to evolve our portfolio to help support your career growth.
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