ECUK to offer IT technician qualification

Industry standard or unnecessary addition to morass of IT qualifications?

The Engineering Coucil UK, which holds the register for chartered engineer status, has announced its intention to provide a professional qualification for IT technicians.

The Information and Communications Technology Technicians (ICT Tech) qualification will be awarded to professionals meeting criteria set by the ECUK in consultation with IT skills bodies including as the eSkills Council.

IT institutions which satisfy criteria set out by the ECUK's requirements are the British Computing Society (BCS), the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology. But the ECUK said it is still deciding exactly which institutions will take part in the new qualification.

But some industry commentators expressed concern that ICT Tech would add confusion to the already-overcrowded panoply of IT qualifications.

Although the BCS qualification - the Chartered IT Professional (CITP) - was intended to provide an industry professional standard, it was recently condemned by IT officials for its limited availability and recognition, as well as its lack of a hands-on approach.

Stephan Graham, data integration firm Informatica’s IT manager for Europe and the Middle East, was doubtful another professional standard is what the IT industry needs. “As an IT manager, you know what all the different qualifications mean, for example ITIL and the Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator, and they help define the roles that exist within IT,” said Graham.