Cognicert Launches Verified Competence Initiative for the AI Era

New initiative helps employers and professionals distinguish access to knowledge from independently verified professional competence.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, September 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Artificial intelligence is making specialist knowledge dramatically easier to access, but Cognicert Limited says the same technology is creating a new challenge for employers: how can someone prove they are actually competent?

Professionals can now use AI to understand specialist subjects, prepare for interviews, improve CVs, complete online learning and present themselves confidently as experts. Cognicert believes this democratisation of knowledge creates enormous opportunities, but it also increases the need to distinguish between access to knowledge, completion of training and demonstrated professional competence.

"AI has democratised access to knowledge, and that is an enormously positive development. But it has also made it easier than ever to sound knowledgeable without necessarily being able to demonstrate professional competence," said John Aderibigbe, Marketing Director at Cognicert Limited.

For employers, several questions are becoming increasingly important: Who assessed this person? What were they required to demonstrate? Was their competence evaluated against defined requirements? Can their credential be independently verified? Ultimately, can this person do what they claim they can do?

ISO/IEC 17024:2026 Brings the Question Into Focus

ISO/IEC 17024:2026, Conformity assessment - General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons, was published in March 2026. The revised international standard responds to technological developments affecting certification, including the use of artificial intelligence within certification processes.

For Cognicert, the development raises a wider question: What does it mean to be professionally competent in the age of AI?

Cognicert Launches the Verified Competence Initiative

Cognicert has launched the Cognicert Verified Competence Initiative, an educational initiative encouraging professionals and employers to look beyond the appearance of credentials and examine the evidence behind them.

It is built around four principles: Learn it. Demonstrate it. Certify it. Verify it.

The initiative encourages professionals to move beyond asking, "Will I receive a certificate?" and instead ask, "What does this certificate actually prove?"

Cognicert has also released a free Professional Competence Checklist comprising 10 questions designed to help employers, professionals and organisations examine the evidence supporting a credential. The checklist considers whether meaningful assessment occurred, what was assessed, whether defined criteria were applied and whether the resulting credential can be independently verified.

Professionals and employers can access the checklist through the Cognicert Verified Competence Initiative at https://cognicert.com/verified-competence.

From Qualifications to Verification

Cognicert believes the traditional employer question, "What qualifications do you have?" may increasingly need to be followed by, "What did you have to demonstrate to obtain them?" and ultimately, "Can I verify it?"

"Professional trust has always depended on evidence," Aderibigbe said. "AI does not remove that requirement. If anything, it makes evidence more important."

Although AI has accelerated the debate, Cognicert says the principle applies across professional disciplines including quality management, information security, AI governance, risk, compliance, auditing, management systems, sustainability and business continuity.

"Knowledge matters. Learning matters. Training matters. But where professional competence is being claimed, there should be credible evidence behind that claim," Aderibigbe said.

About Cognicert Limited

Cognicert Limited is a UK-based professional training, certification and assurance organisation supporting professionals and organisations internationally. Cognicert provides standards-based professional learning, assessment and certification pathways across quality management, governance, risk and compliance, information security, AI governance, sustainability and related management-system disciplines.

Verified Competence Initiative: https://cognicert.com/verified-competence
Website: https://cognicert.com/

John Aderibigbe
Cognicert Limited
+44 20 3432 2505
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