Requirements of practice in relation to the existing information technology and security management competencies

Until few years ago professional certifications were something that is good, but not necessary to have during employment process. That could be seen from the published job advertisements for variety of IT and information security professionals. In such job ads, there was first required specific experience in the subject area where no confirmation of that experience in form of professional certification was needed. Later, in addition of required experience in subject area, the possession of certain certificates was referred as advantage in job ads. Nowadays, it almost becomes the rule that the requirement for employment, in addition to having specific experience in the subject area, is also possession of a professional certificate which confirms stated experience. Professional certifications primarily demonstrate experience and knowledge in a particular area but also, due to the necessity of re-certification every few years, show commitment to professional development and constant training. The guiding principle of this study was to determine how many such certified professionals there is in Croatia and what kind of skills and competencies employers indirectly seek by requiring possession of certain certificates in job ads.