Top IT certifications to upskill your team
Empower your team with IT certifications that validate skills and boost their careers. Find out which certs can help you achieve organizational goals.
Feb 5, 2026 • 9 Minute Read
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Certifications are one way to upskill your team, validate their skills, and give them valuable career credentials.
With so many different IT certifications for tech teams available, which ones should you focus on? It ultimately depends on your team’s skills gaps and roles, along with your organization’s goals and tech stack.
Regardless of your exact needs, here’s a quick overview of tech certifications to consider for team development.
Learn more about Pluralsight’s hands-on skill development platform and certification prep.
General IT certifications for team development
Consider these certifications if you’re looking to validate your team’s general IT knowledge.
CompTIA A+
The CompTIA A+ certification is an industry standard entry-level IT certification focused on hardware, networks, and computer system fundamentals.
Who should take this certification: Aspiring technologists, entry-level IT professionals, and anyone looking to build foundational IT knowledge
Topics covered: CompTIA A+ consists of two exams. The A+ Core 1 covers mobile devices, networking, hardware, virtualization, cloud computing, and hardware and network troubleshooting. The A+ Core 2 covers operating systems, security, software troubleshooting, and operational procedures.
Prerequisites: None. However, CompTIA recommends at least 12 months of hands-on experience in an IT support specialist job role.
Cost: $265 per exam or $530 total
For a 10% discount when your team members sign up for their next CompTIA exam, use the code PLURAL10.
CompTIA A+ certification prep courses:
Microsoft 365 Certified: Fundamentals (retiring on March 31, 2026)
Microsoft certifications cover a range of domains across core technologies and skills. This makes them ideal for beginner roles, particularly in organizations that use Microsoft products and/or Azure.
This certification will be retired on March 31st, 2026. In the future, Microsoft will release a new Fundamentals Certification that validates foundational AI skills and knowledge of identity, security, and compliance essentials in Microsoft Entra and Microsoft Purview.
In the meantime, if someone has already earned the Microsoft 365 Certified: Fundamentals certification, it will stay on their profile in Microsoft Learn. (Fundamentals Certifications don’t expire.)
Who should take this certification: Technical professionals and business professionals who want a better understanding of Microsoft 365
Topics covered: This certification covers cloud concepts, Microsoft 365 apps and services, security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365, and Microsoft 365 pricing, licensing, and support.
Prerequisites: None. Familiarity with basic IT knowledge and cloud-based solutions can be helpful, but the exam is designed for people with no prior knowledge of these topics.
Cost: $99
Microsoft 365 Certified: Fundamentals certification prep course:
Cloud certifications to upskill IT teams
Cloud certifications can help your team prepare for a cloud migration, manage multicloud or hybrid cloud, and run AI workloads in the cloud.
Unsure how cloud certifications can help your teams progress? Check out our cloud career roadmap to boost your team’s skills.
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification provides an overview of cloud computing and AWS. It’s not geared towards a specific role or set of services. Instead, it validates overall knowledge of AWS.
Who should take this certification: Anyone who needs a foundational understanding of AWS and how it’s structured
Topics covered: This certification covers AWS cloud concepts, security and compliance best practices, core AWS services, and cloud costs and billing practices.
Prerequisites: None, though AWS recommends about six months of AWS and industry knowledge.
Cost: $100
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification prep course:
Looking for other AWS certifications for your team? Check out this blog article to see which one is right for your people.
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate is one of the most popular cloud certifications. It provides a broad overview of AWS and a valuable foundation for professionals to build on moving forward.
Who should take this certification: Individuals in solutions architect roles who need to design solutions using the AWS Well-Architected Framework
Topics covered: This certification covers designing secure, resilient, high-performing, and cost-optimized architectures. It also validates someone’s ability to improve existing solutions and design AWS solutions that meet business requirements.
Prerequisites: AWS recommends that exam-takers have at least one to three years of IT experience or one year of hands-on experience designing cloud solutions with AWS services.
Cost: $150
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification prep course:
Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals is a beginner-level certification that provides a starting point for Azure career development. It focuses on core Azure architectural components and services, like compute, storage, and networking.
Who should take this certification: Technology professionals who need foundational knowledge of cloud concepts and Microsoft Azure
Topics covered: This certification covers foundational cloud concepts, Azure architecture and services, and Azure management and governance.
Prerequisites: None, though it’s helpful if candidates have experience working in an IT field such as infrastructure management, database management, or software development.
Cost: $99
Azure Fundamentals certification prep course:
Google Cloud Digital Leader
Google Cloud Digital Leader is a foundational certification that focuses on cloud computing use cases and how cloud, specifically Google Cloud services, support organizational goals.
Who should take this certification: Anyone who wants to understand cloud computing basics and core Google Cloud products and services
Topics covered: This certification covers core Google Cloud services, along with digital transformation, data transformation, trust and security, modernizing infrastructure, and scaling operations with Google Cloud.
Prerequisites: None, though Google recommends that candidates have experience collaborating with technical professionals.
Cost: $99
Google Cloud Digital Leader certification prep course:
Enterprise cybersecurity certifications
In an ever-evolving threat landscape, cybersecurity certifications ensure your teams have the skills they need to defend against the latest threats.
CompTIA Security+
The CompTIA Security+ certification is one the most widely recognized credentials for cybersecurity careers. As an entry-level certification, it focuses on the core security functions needed to protect networks, apps, and data. It’s often a starting point for careers in IT security.
Who should take this certification: Early-career IT professionals and aspiring cybersecurity professionals
Topics covered: This certification covers general cybersecurity concepts, threats, vulnerabilities, and mitigations, security architecture, and security operations.
Prerequisites: Candidates should earn the CompTIA Network+ certification and have two years of experience working in a security or systems administrator job role.
Cost: $425
CompTIA Security+ certification prep course:
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification proves that someone can design, implement, and manage information security for an organization.
Who should take this certification: Cybersecurity professionals, managers, and executives who want to prove their knowledge across a wide array of security practices and/or grow into more advanced roles
Topics covered: This certification covers eight domains: Security and risk management, asset security, security architecture and engineering, communication and network security, identity and access management (IAM), security assessment and testing, security operations, and software development security.
Prerequisites: At least five years of experience in two or more of the domains listed above.
Cost: $749
CISSP certification prep course:
AWS Certified Security – Specialty
The AWS Certified Security - Specialty is an advanced certification that validates someone’s ability to secure workloads and architectures on AWS.
Who should take this certification: Experienced professionals with three to five years of experience who are responsible for securing cloud solutions (specifically on AWS).
Topics covered: This certification covers specialized data classifications and AWS data protection mechanisms, data-encryption methods, AWS security services and features, security operations and risks, and trade-offs between cost, security, and deployment complexity.
Prerequisites: Exam-takers should have at least five years of IT security experience designing and implementing security solutions and two or more years of hands-on experience securing AWS workloads. While no prior certifications are required, most candidates earn the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate and/or AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional first.
Cost: $300
AWS Certified Security – Specialty certification prep course:
Software developer certifications
If you’re looking to validate your team’s software development skills, these certifications can be a good starting point.
Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate
The Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate certification focuses on real-world application development on Azure.
Who should take this certification: Developers with proficient Azure knowledge who need to develop, deploy, and secure applications on Azure
Topics covered: This certification covers Azure compute solutions, developing Azure storage, implementing Azure security, optimizing Azure solutions, and connecting to Azure and third-party services.
Prerequisites: Microsoft recommends at least two years of programming experience, proficiency in programming with Azure SDKs, and proficiency using Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, and other tools.
Cost: $165
Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate certification prep course:
AWS Certified Developer – Associate
The AWS Certified Developer – Associate measures proficiency in developing, testing, deploying, and debugging AWS cloud-based applications. This makes it a great starting certification for IT or cloud developers.
Who should take this certification: Developers or anyone who uses AWS services and features
Topics covered: This certification covers development with AWS services, security, deployment, and troubleshooting and optimization.
Prerequisites: AWS recommends one or more years of hands-on experience developing and maintaining applications using AWS services.
Cost: $150
AWS Certified Developer – Associate certification prep course:
Google Professional Cloud Developer
The Google Professional Cloud Developer certification assesses someone’s ability to design, build, and deploy applications on Google Cloud.
Who should take this certification: Developers who need to build cloud solutions on Google Cloud
Topics covered: This certification covers designing scalable, available, and reliable cloud-native applications, building and testing applications, deploying applications, and integrating applications with Google Cloud services.
Prerequisites: None, but Google recommends more than three years of industry experience, including one year designing and managing solutions using Google Cloud.
Cost: $200
Google Cloud Professional Cloud Developer certification prep course:
AI certifications
AI certifications can show that your people have the skills and knowledge to build and use AI responsibly, securely, and effectively.
AWS Certified AI Practitioner - Foundational
The AWS Certified AI Practitioner - Foundational certification focuses on practical business applications of AI. It’s a good entry-level certification for anyone looking to move into an AI/ML career.
If you’re looking for more advanced AWS certifications for your team, consider:
Who should take this certification: Anyone who wants to validate their AI/ML knowledge but doesn’t necessarily build AI/ML solutions
Topics covered: This certification covers fundamentals of AI, ML, and generative AI, applications of foundation models, responsible AI guidelines, and security, compliance, and governance for AI solutions.
Prerequisites: None, but AWS recommends getting familiar with AWS cloud and AI/ML essentials before sitting this exam.
Cost: $100
AWS Certified AI Practitioner - Foundational certification prep course:
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals
As one of the fundamental Microsoft certifications, Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals covers AI/ML basics and related Azure services. This makes it ideal for beginners or anyone looking to eventually earn more advanced role-based certifications like Azure Data Scientist Associate or Azure AI Engineer Associate.
Who should take this certification: Anyone who wants to demonstrate their understanding of AI/ML concepts and Azure services
Topics covered: This certification covers AI workloads and considerations, fundamental principles of machine learning on Azure, and features of computer vision, Natural Language Processing (NLP) workloads, and generative AI workloads on Azure.
Prerequisites: None, but Microsoft says knowledge of basic cloud concepts and client-server applications may help.
Cost: $99
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals certification prep course:
Wrapping up: Build excitement for certifications to boost employee engagement
It’s important to know what types of certs are out there. But how do you actually encourage your people to earn them?
Studying takes time, and the exam vouchers aren’t cheap. If you’re asking employees to sit certification exams, you need to give them time to learn on the job and cover the costs.
Certification challenges that recognize and reward people for earning certain certifications are one way to build excitement and give employees the resources and support they need.
Ready to get started? Learn how to set up a certification challenge in your organization with the Tech Upskilling Playbook.
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