We’re pleased to let you know that the new certification program being developed by the ATD Certification Institute has a name: the Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD). Thanks to many of you for helping us reach this important milestone.

This new program will provide our colleagues who wish to focus on a few areas of expertise or who are newer to the field a way to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive talent market and demonstrate expertise to employers or clients:

• Registration for the APTD program will begin in June.
• The first exam will be offered in September.

The new APTD certification is more narrowly focused than the Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP), our field’s premier certification. It will test knowledge on three primary areas of expertise from The ATD Competency Model, along with evaluating learning impact and the global mindset foundational competency.

Again, we want to offer special thanks to the nearly 500 individuals (ATD members, CPLPs, and others) who provided input for the name of the APTD program and who took part in the recent validation survey on what should be tested on the APTD exam. The development of this new program has relied on your engagement and ideas.

We hope you will continue to provide input and share your expertise to help us shape the APTD certification. More information about how to get involved and a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) can be found on the ATD website.

Thank you for being part of our global community of talent development professionals. With your engagement, together we are creating a world that works better!

Best regards,

Tony Bingham
President, ATD CI