Recognition of ICT Professionals
Computer Society of SA (CSSA) hosted a meeting on 15 October to discuss issues around the recognition of ICT professionals. The meetingwas attended by representatives of CSSA, the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), the SA Institute of Electrical Engineering (SAIEE), the Black IT Forum (BITF) and the local chapter of the IEEE-Computer Society (IEEE-CS). SAICSIT, representing university lecturers in computer science and information systems from most SA universities, will be represented at future meetings. All organisations represented indicated their support for this initiative.
15 October 2010
Long-established disciplines such as medicine, engineering and law have developed well-managed mechanisms to recognise individuals as “professionals”. This recognition serves both to protect the broader community from unqualified and unethical practitioners, and to safeguard the status of members of the profession. In some cases recognition of professional status either promotes or limits the mobility of professionals across international borders. As a relatively young discipline Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has not yet developed a broadly accepted professional recognition system. Over recent years several international and national initiatives have started to address this issue. In recent months various stakeholders in the South African ICT sector have begun to address questions of accreditation and recognition of ICT professionals. Government is also becoming actively involved: The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) is mandated by the NQF Act to recognise professional bodies and register their professional designations. Towards this objective it recently published a draft policy and guidelines for comment. Chairing this initial meeting Prof Barry Dwolatzky, representing the IEEE-CS, made the point that the aim was to convene a process representing all stakeholders. The objective, supported by all present, is to ensure that this process is as representative, inclusive and transparent as possible. For this reason any organisation with an interest in this matter is invited to nominate up to two representatives to attend future meetings. Mechanisms will be put in place (eg. teleconference facilities) to ensure that stakeholders from all cities and regions in SA are able to participate. This first meeting summarised the current status of professional recognition in SA and attempted to set out a “problem statement”, i.e. why is such recognition needed in South Africa? It was agreed that all representatives would initially consider and prioritise the roles in the ICT sector that need to be regulated, and to suggest what risks such regulation would be mitigating? They will also suggest standards (existing or new) that support each role. Future meetings – the next is in November - will carry this conversation forward.