Dive Brief:

• IBM on Friday announced a new IBM Watson Application Developer Certification, which allows developers to verify their aptitude with Big Blue's technology. 
• The new certification will "make it even easier for developers to learn how to build and deploy cognitive applications – and even more importantly, to distinguish themselves for having developed these critical skills," the company said. 
• There is significant demand for such skills. IDC predicts that 50% of developer teams will embed cognitive capabilities in their applications by 2018.

Dive Insight:

The field of cognitive computing is growing quickly, and that means companies need talent trained in AI. The new certification is designed to help companies find talent to build both enterprise and consumer-focused cognitive programs. 

Among other things, the certification exam will evaluate developers’ knowledge and understanding of the IBM Watson Developer Cloud.

Certifications have long had a presence in the industry, acting as a way to verify skills that some hiring manager struggle to assess. As technology has changed, certifications have continued to grow in importance as a way for companies to vet tech talent.

With certifications, "you’re getting independent, third-party validation of a person’s skills,” according to Randy Russell, director of certifications at Red Hat, an open-source solutions company. Rather than sifting through a stack of resumes, "certifications give you a sense of what they do and it’s verified," Russell said.