TheBritish Computer
Society (BCS)plans to reinvent itself after recognising
that it has lost relevance to the IT profession.
The charity is transforming itself to represent a wider group of
IT professionals in more countries. It will announce the changes in
September.
Alan Pollard, president at the BCS, said the organisation wants
to appeal to a wider section of IT industry. "A lot of the research
we did identified that we are seen as a technical ivory tower."
The charity, which awards the
Charted IT
Professional qualification (CITP), will announce major changes
to its structure and the qualifications it offers to reflect the
needs of today's IT professionals.
The BCS wants more members that support IT in their day to day
work. It is also planning to target more overseas IT
professionals.
"The framework of the industry is so broad and everything we do
relies on IT," said Pollard. "There is an argument for a new
structure, qualifications and products and services. Now is the
time to do it."
The BCS will change its CITP qualifications in September to
balance of academic and practical skills. "Last century the BCS was
in the back room and everything it did was in the back room but
this century is [also about] how we use [technology]," said
Pollard.
There will be a major overhaul of the BCS's web presence,
described by Pollard as currently "disappointing".
The organisation will create a federated structure that will
allow other organisations approved by the BCS to award the CITP
qualifications. They include the Association of Outsourcing
Professionals, the Open Group and the IT Service Management Forum
International.
William Scott-Jackson at Oxford Strategic Consulting said the
restructure is needed. "The distinction between people that do
things with computers professionally and people that use computers
in their profession is becoming much more unclear. Also the
globalisation of the IT sector means they have to become more
international."