Types of Certificates

Frequently Asked Questions about

ACRE Training – Certificates of Achievement

Each year ACRE training members provide training and award certificates of achievement to those who complete successfully all training requirements. ACRE training is usually pursued by professionals working in the area of employment services for people with disabilities. 

What types of Certificates of Achievement are available for employment professionals?

ACRE endorses 2 types of training curricula in Employment Services, and award Certificates of Achievement in Employment Services to those who complete all training requirements. The 2 curricula types are:

Basic Employment Services Certificate of Achievement

Professional Certificate of Achievement in Employment Services

Click: ACRE Employment Competencies to gain access to ACRE’s competencies document.

ACRE training members can offer the Basic and/or Professional trainings. Only trainees completing ACRE approved training can earn either of the ACRE certificates of achievement.

  • Trainees must complete all training requirements of the ACRE approved training, which is a minimum of 40 hours of training, to complete the Basic Certificate of Achievement.
  • To earn a Professional Level Certificate of Achievement, a trainee must complete the Basic Level ACRE Training and then enroll in an ACRE approved Professional Level. Trainees must also have a minimum of 1 year of employment service experience.
  • Currently there is one Professional Level training offered. ACRE hopes to have more offerings by 2017.

If I receive a certificate of achievement in basic employment services, and then I take extra training, can ACRE award me a professional employment services certificate of achievement?

While additional training is always recommended for professional growth, the training would need to be part of an ACRE approved Professional training.  The ACRE organization approves the training to be offered but does not award any certificates of achievement.

Only ACRE members who provide training may award certificates of achievement. They do this for individuals who complete all requirements of their ACRE approved training.  

Who provides ACRE approved training?

ACRE members with approved curricula based on agreed upon competencies provide training. Since 2005, ACRE training providers have been awarding certificates of achievement to trainees who complete all training requirements. More than 4250 professionals across the nation have obtained the Basic Employment Services or both the Professional and Basic level certificates.

To enroll in ACRE approved training you must find a training provider that offers either in person, online or a hybrid training that meets your needs. See the options at the Training tab http://www.acreducators.org/find-training-providers.

Does ACRE offer a “Certification” Program?

No, ACRE does not have certification programs. ACRE members with ACRE approved curricula award a “certificate of achievement” to each trainee, who complete the requirements successfully.  

Employment service professionals seeking a professional “certification” should explore the APSE Certificate for Employment Service Professionals (CESP). For more information go to the APSE website: www.apse.org.  APSE lists on their website recommendations for how to prepare to take the CESP exam, and ACRE is one of the recommended options.

There is a 3-step process to ensure best practices:

  • ACRE reviews curriculum submitted by ACRE members (against agreed upon competencies)
  • ACRE members provide training using competency-based curriculum and award certificates of achievement to trainees who successfully meet all of the requirements of the training.
  • The CESP exam allows employment professionals to demonstrate mastery of the comprehensive competency areas.

IMPORTANT: APSE's CESP credential is a certification, which requires ongoing training in order to maintain the CESP certification.

What is the difference between ACRE and APSE?

ACRE is a membership organization for trainers who specifically work in the area of training professionals who provide employment services. ACRE offers a service of reviewing training curricula against the ACRE employment services competencies (which are based on the APSE competencies) in order to become an ACRE training provider.

APSE is a membership organization for people working in the field of employment for individuals with disabilities. Among other activities, APSE developed and maintains the CESP credential, and it administers the CESP exams. If you want to be Certified, APSE is the organization that can help you.

How long is my certificate of achievement good for?  Are there continuing education requirements to maintain my certificate?

Because your certificate of achievement demonstrates that you completed the training requirements, it never expires. Once awarded, there are no other requirements.

In some states, there are ongoing education requirements for professionals working in employment services. You should ask your funding agencies if such requirements exist in your state.

How do I get my name on the certificate registry?  Do I have to be an ACRE member?

THE CERTIFICATE Registry: The ACRE website provides a valuable service of the Certificate Registry, a database that lists the names of all trainees who have completed the requirement of an ACRE approved curriculum offered by one of the ACRE Organizational members. For trainees to be listed on the ACRE Certificate Registry the following must happen:

  • Trainees enroll in training offered by ACRE member organizations that offer ACRE approved training.
  • The trainee must complete all requirements of that training.
  • The training provider is responsible for submitting your name for the Certificate Registry.
  • Trainees do not need to be ACRE members to have their names listed. 

My name should be listed on the Certificate Registry but it is not. What should I do?

If you have successfully completed an ACRE approved training program and received a certificate of achievement and your name is not on the registry you should do the following:

  • Be sure the training you completed was ACRE approved.  Check the certificate of achievement to be sure that it was an ACRE Certificate of Achievement. (You can also find a list of ACRE approved training providers on the ACRE website)
  • Confirm with the training provider that you completed all requirements of the training.
  • Ask the training provider if your name has been submitted for the registry.
  • If it has, ask the provider to contact ACRE to let us know of the problem.

Important: ACRE Training providers submit names for the certificate registry. They often wait for all trainees to complete the requirements and submit a single list, so there are often delays on their part in submitting names.  Once names are received it can take a couple of weeks for them to be added in the Certificate Registry.