SAN RAFAEL, Calif., July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc., (NASDAQ: ADSK), today announced that design and engineering professionals can become Autodesk Certified in AutoCAD 2010, Autodesk Inventor 2010, Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010, and AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 software. Becoming Autodesk Certified allows professionals, and companies boasting Autodesk Certified employees, to validate their industry skills and knowledge, demonstrate expertise and gain credibility. Customer demand has contributed to the huge growth of Autodesk Certification over the past year, increasing the number of Autodesk Certified professionals to more than 100,000.

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"With engineering and design fields becoming increasingly competitive, certification gives employees an edge at a time when having one is critical to career success," said Barbara Bowen, certification program development manager, Autodesk. "Autodesk Certification allows experienced designers and engineers to validate acquired skills by receiving recognition for their knowledge of specific Autodesk software applications."

Certification can only be achieved after passing a rigorous Autodesk certification exam, or series of exams, and companies like Parsons Brinkerhoff, a planning, engineering, program and construction management, and operations and maintenance organization, recognize the importance of certification and of having consistent quality of skills company-wide. In 2008, Parsons Brinkerhoff partnered with Autodesk to bring certification to their designers.

"We needed a reliable way to assess the skill level of our employees, ensure they were up to industry standards and equip staff for their next project," said Rebecca Arsham, CAD Training Manager, Parsons Brinkerhoff. "Our pilot program with AutoCAD and AutoCAD Civil 3D was extremely successful. With the Autodesk training model, our employees had an 83 percent and 71 percent pass rate on the Associate Certification and Professional Certification exams, respectively. Through this program, we have seen an increase in productivity and gained competitive advantage by marketing Autodesk Certified staff expertise on many of our projects."

Availability

The Autodesk 2010 Certification program is available for professionals using AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Revit Architecture, and AutoCAD Civil 3D software. Professionals seeking to master their respective industries can take training courses and the Certified Associate and Certified Professional exams at all Autodesk Authorized Certification Centers across the United States and Canada. Autodesk Certification is available in more than 20 countries.

Autodesk will also offer free certification for the second year in a row at Autodesk University, as well as a preparation lab, offering assessment and practice tests and a study room with study materials.

For more information on Autodesk Certification for 2010, please visit: www.autodesk.com/be-remarkable.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is a world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art Digital Prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, Autodesk Inventor, AutoCAD, ATC, Civil 3D, Inventor and Revit are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

(C) 2009 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

    Contact:  Angela Simoes, (415) 547-2388
    Email:    angela.simoes@autodesk.com

SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.

Web site: http://www.autodesk.com/