- 1. ICT Professionalism A European ICT Professionalism Framework
Proposal Draft Work-in-progress document
2. The Research Assignment
- The Innovation Value Institute (IVI) with the Council of
European Professional Informatics Societies (CEPIS) were awarded a
research contract from the European Commission Directorate General
Enterprise and Industry. The objective of this research initiative
is to support the development of :
- A European Framework for ICT Professionalismwith the goal of
enhancing ICT professionalism and mobility across Europe.
- A European Training Programme for ICT managersto promote new
competences with a view to better address the challenges of ICT
driven innovation and the future internet.
28/11/11 3. Research
- IVI and CEPIS undertook extensive desktop research and
conducted a number of surveys and interviews to get a broad
understanding of the landscape. An interim report has been
published and is available atHTTP://ICTProf.eu .
-
http://ictprof.eu/documents/EU_ICT_Prof-interim_report-PublishedVersion.pdf
- The research team have been developing a framework proposal and
testing the ideas with senior stakeholders. What follows is a
work-in-progress view.
28/11/11 4. What is an ICT Professional
- possess a comprehensive and up-to-date understanding of a
relevant body of knowledge 1 ,
- demonstrate on-going commitment to professional development
2via an appropriate combination of qualifications, certifications,
work experience, non-formal and/or informal education;
- adhere to an agreed code of ethics/conduct 3and/or applicable
regulatory practices and,
- through competent practice 4deliver value for
stakeholders.
- The term relevant body of knowledge encompasses the requirement
for a broad and deep knowledge base which is up-to-date,
accommodating both a common ICT body of knowledge, and pertinent
specialist knowledge and skills.
- Professional development focuses on improving professional
competence in a professional role, with the objective of enhancing
personal performance and career progression opportunities. It can
encompass both technical aspects (e.g. keeping abreast of latest
technological trends) as well as non-technical aspects (e.g.
developing better presentation skills).
- Professionals are accountable to themselves, the ICT Profession
and society, through an agreed code of ethics/conduct and/or
applicable regulatory practices.
- Competent practice communicates the concept of quality of
products and services being delivered by practitioners.
28/11/11 5. Ethics / Conductcompetences Education Bodies of
Knowledge 6. Framework Building Blocks
- Common ICT Body of Knowledge
- Identify and win support for a common body of knowledge.
- Supports qualifications, certifications, formal and informal
learning.
- ICT to be accepted by society as a profession must behave
ethically.
- Roles, jobs, CVs aligned to e-Competence Framework competences
with required or attained proficiency levels
28/11/11 7. e-Competence Framework
- A common European framework for ICT Professionals in all
industry sectors
- The European e-Competence Framework (e-CF)is a reference
framework of 36 ICT competences that can be used and understood by
ICT user and supply companies, the public sector, educational and
social partners across Europe. The framework provides an
international tool for:
- ICT practitioners and managers , with clear guidelines for
their competence development
- Human resources managers , enabling the anticipation and
planningof competence requirements
- Education and training , enabling effective planning and design
of ICT curricula
- Policy makers and market researchers , providing a clear and
Europe-wide agreed reference for ICT skills and competences in a
long-term perspective
- Procurement managers , providinga common language for effective
technical terms of reference in national and international
bids.
- Seehttp://www.ecompetences.eu/
28/11/11 8. e-CF Proficiency Levels 28/11/11 9. Qualifications
Framework
- The European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning
(EQF) provides a common reference framework which assists in
comparing the national qualifications systems, frameworks and their
levels. It serves as a translation device to make qualifications
more readable and understandable across different countries and
systems in Europe, and thus promote lifelong and life-wide
learning, and the mobility of European citizens whether for
studying or working abroad.
- http://ec.europa.eu/eqf/home_en.htm .
28/11/11 10. E-Jobs Profiles
- This project is attempting to identify the competences and
required proficiency levels needed for a variety of ICT jobs.
- The project has produced an interim report which is available
athttp://www.ecompetences.eu/2038,CEN+ICT+Skills+Workshop.html
28/11/11
http://www.ecompetences.eu/site/objects/download/6228_110428eJobinterimreport.pdf
11. ICT Professionalism Framework 28/11/11 12. Ethics 28/11/11 13.
The Knowledge Base 28/11/11 14. Education & Training 28/11/11
15. Competences 28/11/11 16. Major points
- Competence based with competence proficiency levels
- Associates enter via any learning path (level 1)
- Broad ICT knowledge base must be in place prior to being
recognised as a professional (level 2)
- Competence level initially self-assessedagainst e-CF
seehttp://www.ecompetences.eu/
- Framework mappings need audit support
- All frameworks must be maintained and kept relevant
28/11/11 17. Successes and Hills to Climb
- ICT Professionalism is in need of further development and is
seen as beneficial.
- Agreement on the need for a broad education base.
- Competence mapping benefits are recognised
- Changing the mind-set to be competence based will take
time
- Motivating the various stakeholders to change will be difficult
especially for early adapters
- Reconciling cultural differences and perspectives is and will
be challenging
28/11/11 18. 28/11/11 19. ICT Professionals Perspective
- The provision of granular market demand statistics (for example
by CEDEFOP, Eurostat, OECD) offers to ICT professionals appropriate
information on which to base important career decisions, with
respect to the level of demand for specific competences and the
location in which the demand is increasing/decreasing.
- The provision of standardised career paths and ICT role
profiles defined in terms of competences and proficiencies would
offer support for worker mobility across companies and national
boundaries. It would assist career planning in terms of identifying
jobs to pursue sequentially for professional development, in
identifying competence gaps and future competence
requirements.
- The alignment of certifications/qualifications by certification
providers and academic institutions to a common competence
framework would result in improved transparency of courses and
would support the identification of relevant training and education
programmes to develop required competences
- Adhering to Codes of Ethics/Conduct helps build the individuals
reputation within the profession. The alignment by Professional
Associations of their Codes of Ethics/Conduct to a common set of
criteria and procedures would result in a more uniform approach to
ethical conduct across Europe, which is of particular relevance in
cases of worker mobility.
- An up-to-date portfolio of evidence, outlining all CPD
initiatives, would provide the basis for advancement along career
paths and would serve as the ICT professionals key marketing tool
during recruitment initiatives.
28/11/11 20. 28/11/11 21. Employers perspective
- Collaboration gives industry a voice and keeps training
relevant.
- The provision of granular market demand statistics (for example
by CEDEFOP, Eurostat, OECD) offers employers with insights on the
availability, location, and demand for specific competences, and
could provide input for recruitment decisions and targeted
recruitment drives.
- Employers defining job roles in terms of a standardised set of
ICT competences and proficiency levels (via, for example, the e-CF)
are able to establish increased consistency within an organisation,
including across national boundaries.
- Alignment with a consistent set of role profiles (an optional
step) would facilitate further consistency across an organisation,
although it is likely that most organisations would require some
customisation of job profiles internally.
- An up-to-date portfolio of evidence provides the basis for
selection of employees from the pool of job applicants, based on
the degree of fit between their experience/qualifications and the
requirements of the companys job role.
- The ICT Professionals Register will help to validate an
applicants Portfolio of Evidence. It will achieve this by storing
details of the educational and professional
- The alignment of education and training courses to a common
competence framework would enable employers to support their
employees Continuing Professional Development; more specifically,
the improved transparency of courses would help highlight relevant
training and education programmes employees should pursue in order
to fill competence gaps in-house.
- Europass CV extensions with ICT Competences and Proficiencies
makes comparisons easier.
28/11/11 22. 28/11/11 23. Certification providers and education
providers
- Statistics for current and future demands.
- Collaboration between educators and industry ensures education
and associated certificates and qualifications are kept
relevant..
- Non formal learning can be validated and used for
exemptions.
- The use of established bodies of knowledge and recognition of
appropriate standards in certification/ qualification development
improves the quality of courses.
- The mapping of certifications/ qualifications (with appropriate
audit mechanisms) to a common competence framework that serves as
the basis for defining role profiles and career paths improves
course transparency by highlighting the competences developed.
- The mapping of certifications/qualifications (with appropriate
audit mechanisms) to a national qualifications framework and
thereby the EQF provides another mechanism for increasing course
transparency.
28/11/11 24. ICT Professionalism tentative Framework with
Governance 28/11/11 25. 28/11/11 26. 28/11/11 27. 28/11/11