TheBritish Computer Societyhas announced a range of
measures to boost its profile and "enhance its value" to
members.
The group is opening an Academy of Computing, expanding
internationally, starting a new networking group, launching a new
website and job site, and tweaking its qualifications. It is also
adding "Chartered Institute for IT" to its name.
BCS chief executive David Clarke said, "Our goal is to transform
the value we offer our members and other key communities. Over the
next 12 months, we will introduce a wide range of new
qualifications, products and services designed to do this."
The organisation hopes the
changes will help it to address the six main issues it believes
face the IT industry. These include the digital divide, information
vulnerability, poor information management, IT project failures, IT
skills shortages and a lack of clear career paths for IT
professionals.
It aims to extend its international reach, and is translating
its qualifications into German and Spanish to meet demand from IT
staff in Europe. The BCS' next target market is the US, it
said.
The organisation is sponsoring the itSMF conference in the US.
International director Michiel van der Voort said, "We are looking
to establish similar working relationships with organisations that
can help us deliver BCS services and qualifications to US based IT
professionals."
Its newest qualifications focus on
green IT, with a foundation certificate in green IT and a new
practitioner certificate for data centre operators.
Clarke said the ability to process, share and manage information
will determine the success of society and its ability to face up to
future challenges.
"We need a high-performing IT education system, IT literate
policies, a respected and well-supported IT profession and a
population with the skills and the opportunities to be active and
informed citizens," he said.
The BCS is well-positioned to make a contribution to achieving
these objectives, he said.
"For example, by updating assessments for achieving chartered IT
professional (CITP) status, by enhancing the relationship between
education practice and research and by showing leadership on key
issues such as we have done in the green IT space," he said.
The updated CITP assessment process responds to industry and
government demands for deeper expertise and relevance from the IT
profession, said Clarke.
"An important feature of the latest version of chartered status,
which will be released shortly, is the validation of competence,"
he said.
Successful applicants will be issued with a "certificate of
current competence" which will be valid for five years, after which
they will be required to undertake revalidation to acquire a new
certificate.
"The approach will ensure that senior practitioners not only
possess broad technical knowledge, but also that they can
demonstrate business experience, commercial accountability and
competence in their individual IT specialisms," said Clarke.
"Successful candidates will be added to a public register of
chartered IT professionals, which will be a beneficial resource for
clients and employers to find leading IT practitioners," he
said.
IT challenges facing society
• The digital divide
• Information vulnerability
• Poor information management
• IT project failures
• IT skills shortages
• Lack of clear career paths for IT professionals
BCS initiatives
• A more rigorous approach for assessing chartered status for IT
professionals.
• Set up an academy of computing to create an integrated
approach to advancing IT.
• A strategy to extend BCS qualifications to the Asia Pacific
region, Germany and Spain.
• New services for members and BCS groups, including a new
member networking facility.
• A new BCS website with increased functionality.
• A revised job site, BCSrecruit.com, and other career
development tools.