IBM is offering the quantum industry’s first developer certification in a bid to help workforces become “quantum-ready”.
Developers will have to display their knowledge of Qiskit, IBM’s open source quantum development kit, and answer 60 questions in the certification exam.
IBM hopes this will allow people from all development backgrounds to earn a certification in programming Qiskit, “allowing them to leverage their quantum coding skills into a potential opportunity in this exciting new workforce.”
Armed with the knowledge of how to use Python and basic linear algebra, Qiskit allows users to programme quantum computing hardware. Since IBM launched it in 2017, thousands of users have developed applications, maintained and improved code and more.
Now, the company wants to “build a diverse, global, cloud-based ecosystem of developers who can bring quantum computing skills to their own communities and industries.” It hopes that with this new certification, it will help companies and research institutions get their workforce “quantum-ready”.
The certification takes the form of a 60 question exam offered on the Pearson VUE platform and those who pass it must demonstrate experience of using Qiskit to create and execute quantum computing programmes on IBM quantum computers and simulators. They must also display the ability to perform these tasks with little to no assistance from product documentation, support or peers.
IBM also hinted that this is the first of several in a series of new certifications. Upcoming certifications are said to tap into the skills displayed in this newly released certification to demonstrate familiarity with building quantum computing applications to solve problems in optimization, chemistry and finance.”
Earlier this month, IBM unveiled a range of new and enhanced services to help organisations manage their cloud security strategy and controls for hybrid cloud environments. These would be available on the IBM Security Services for Cloud and help enterprises to adopt a consistent and unified security approach across IBM.
