> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://academy.pentaho.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://academy.pentaho.com/partner-enablement-sandbox/beyond-practitioner.md).

# Beyond Practitioner

Associate and Certified Professional are open to any partner engineer on the same terms as any other learner — optional, never required.

Practitioner is the requirement. It is also the first rung of a three-level ladder that every Academy learner can climb. Your engineers can go as far as they like — and none of it is required for partner compliance.

***

### The full ladder

<table><thead><tr><th width="220">Level</th><th width="110">Effort</th><th width="220">Assessment</th><th>For partner staff</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><i class="fa-seedling">:seedling:</i> <strong>Level 1 — Practitioner</strong></td><td>~13 hrs</td><td>Open-book, no proctoring</td><td><strong>Required.</strong> The partner compliance bar.</td></tr><tr><td><i class="fa-leaf-oak">:leaf-oak:</i> <strong>Level 2 — Associate</strong></td><td>~32 hrs</td><td>Timed practical exam</td><td>Optional. Open to any engineer who wants it, individually.</td></tr><tr><td><i class="fa-tree-deciduous">:tree-deciduous:</i> <strong>Level 3 — Certified Professional</strong></td><td>~50 hrs</td><td>Proctored, scenario-based capstone</td><td>Optional. Open to everyone — customer, partner or independent — on identical terms.</td></tr></tbody></table>

***

### Certified Professional: open to everyone

{% hint style="success" icon="unlock" %}
Level 3 is **not partner-gated and not partner-exclusive.** Any individual can pursue it through the standard catalogue — the same proctored capstone, the same terms, whether they work for a partner, a customer, or themselves. A partner engineer who earns it counts toward your organisation's certified headcount, but it is never a precondition for compliance.
{% endhint %}

Where Level 3 already exists in the sandbox paths:

* [Administrator — Level 3 Professional](https://academy.pentaho.com/administrator-path-sandbox/administrator/level-3-professional) — SSO, transport and data security, big-data security, peer-reviewed capstone and proctored exam.
* [Solution Architect — Level 3 Professional](https://academy.pentaho.com/solution-architect-path-sandbox/solution-architect/level-3-professional) — the highest-value credential in the catalogue for the people who scope and sign off delivery.
* [PDI Developer — Level 3 Professional](https://academy.pentaho.com/pdi-developer-path-sandbox/pdi-developer/level-3-professional) — data-lake ingestion with lineage, Carte clustering, restartability, production-grade docs and runbook.

***

### Pricing for optional levels

{% hint style="warning" icon="circle-question" %}
**Placeholder.** The default position is that partner staff pay full catalogue price for Associate and Certified Professional, the same as any learner. Whether a partner discount applies to the optional levels is one of the open commercial decisions. Your Partner Account Manager will confirm.
{% endhint %}

### Why go further?

Not for compliance — for the deal. The Academy Pivot business case names Solution Architects as the audience that most often wins or loses a partner bid at the scoping stage, and Certified Professional is the credential customers most associate with delivery risk. It is optional for a reason: the people who need it will know.

<a class="button secondary" data-icon="sparkles">Next: partner specialty content</a>


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