IT skills body e-skills UK has unveiled a new IT Professional Competency Model designed to improve levels of professionalism in the industry and create a common terminology for IT roles.

The new framework classifies IT professionals based on the competencies they possess - such as business change management, solution architecture, and programme, project and supplier management - their transferable skills and their abilities in these different competencies. It then ranks them as an associate professional, professional, senior professional, lead professional or principal in one or more of the different competencies.

"[The model] will enable employers to understand clearly what someone should be able to do and the standard of performance they can expect - supporting recruitment, performance management and staff development," said Karen Price of e-skills UK. "Individual IT professionals will be able to use the model to better clarify development needs, career paths and aspirations."

She added that the model "will also inform the content of qualifications, education and training courses".

Katie Davis, director of the Government IT Profession at the cabinet office, agreed that the new model would help provide a clear career path for IT staff. “There are nearly 50,000 IT professionals working across central government and the public sector. They need and want a government-wide programme that sets high standards of performance and career development," she said. "The IT Professional Competency Model will help us deliver this."

The model has been developed as part of e-skills' Professionalism in IT Alliance, which includes the British Computer Society, IT trade group Intellect and the National Computer Centre.

Some critics might question the wisdom of a further skills framework given the existence of the well established Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA), which similarly aims to provide a "common language" and set of roles for IT professionals intended to aid career development and recruitment.

However, e-skills insisted the new competency model provides a "top layer" view of capabilities when compared with SFIA's more detailed definitions of 78 different IT roles, and that it links with both SFIA and the BCS' Chartered Professional Programme.

David Clark, chief executive of the BCS, welcomed the latest framework, claiming it would "help organisations to plan and align development programmes and qualifications to an agreed common framework, ensuring they are fit-for-purpose and meet employer and individual needs”.