Canadian Business School


Step 1: Choose Your Level of Specialization
About Those Levels... The Microsoft Office User Specialization Program offers three levels of expertise. Start at any level, depending on You experience. Microsoft Office Proficient Specialist. Prove your abilities by passing one test in either Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel to become a Specialist at this level. Microsoft Office Expert Specialist. Prove you are skilled with the Microsoft Office family of products, including Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft FrontPage. Microsoft Office Expert. Prove that you have achieved Expert status in each of the Microsoft Office applications and have demonstrated - through the Office Integration exam - your ability to integrate these applications. This is the highest level you can reach.

Step 2: Assess Your Experience
How Do I Assess My Experience? You can start by taking a look at the Microsoft Web site. You'll find an Exam Preparation Guide that describes a list of skills you'll need to demonstrate in order to become a Specialist at the level you choose. You can also take a quick look at these sample exam tasks to get a quick idea about what you're in for.

		Sample Exam Tasks.
	Word 2000 (Word Processor) Microsoft Office Proficient Specialist Demonstrate Use of Styles and Templates.	Excel 2000 (Spreadsheet Program) Microsoft Office Expert Specialist Demonstrate Use of Macros.	PowerPoint 2000 (Presentation Program) Microsoft Office Expert Specialist Create a presentation from a template and add a clip art, a Microsoft Excel Chat, a movie, and a sound.
	Access 2000 (Database Management System) Microsoft Office Expert Specialist Create a relational database and relate tables.		FrontPage 2000 (Web site Creation and Management) Microsoft Office Expert Specialist Build a Web site for user input by adding check boxes, radio buttons, and push buttons.

What if I'm Not Quite Ready to Take the Test? No problem. That's what the C.B.S. Training centers are here for. Simply view the courses here and choose the area you feel you require training.

Step 3: Take the Test
Tell Me More About This Test. The Specialist exam is not a written test. Instead it features real-world assignments that are based on the way you actually use your computer. Using an actual document, for example, you'll be asked to perform a series of tasks that clearly demonstrate your desktop computing skills. The typical exam takes less than an hour - and in some cases as little as 30 minutes. It all depends on how efficiently you work. You see, in addition to measuring skills, each exam also gauges your productivity. And the reward for passing? A Microsoft Office User Specialist certificate - proof that you've got the desktop-computing skills you need to work more productively and more efficiently than many of your coworkers. That's good news to anyone in charge of hiring and promoting! For more information please contact the School.