BCS calls for "super breed" of IT professionals

The British Computer Society aims to gather support for its Skills Framework programme

The British Computer Society (BCS) will this month seek to bolster support for its Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) programme at an event designed to introduce the new IT skills standards to employers.

The trade body is expected to tell employers at the workshop in London on 26 February that a new "super breed" of IT professionals boasting business, leadership, communication and technical skills is required if firms are to remain competitive.

It will argue that the SFIA standards - which are backed by the UK government, E-skills UK and the BCS - can help firms develop and manage this new generation of IT professionals by providing a standardised framework for auditing the skills of their IT department and establishing clear IT job titles and roles.

BCS has said in the past that applying the framework to their business will help employers identify IT skills gaps and training requirements and help enhance the professionalism of IT workers who have often seen their attempts to gain professional status on a par with lawyers and accountants undermined by the absence of more formal career paths.

The standard also aims to make it easier for employers to advertise roles and develop IT teams that meet their IT and business requirements.

David Clarke, chief executive of the BCS, said that standardising the IT roles within organisations would help IT workers gain the professional status they deserve. “IT has become integral to the success of business in the way that legal and accountancy professionals have over the past 20 years," he said. "It is crucial that those working in IT across the numerous disciplines and industries are recognised and developed to professional standards, and BCS-supported programmes such as SFIA are an encouraging movement towards thi s.”

However, Cliff Linker, head of professional products at BCS, argued that alongside adopting the new framework IT workers and their employers also had to invest in developing the business skills that are now essential to the career of successful IT professionals.

"Comprehensive business, leadership and communication skills as well as the core IT technical knowledge and competencies [are now required]," he said. " There is also the need for the capability to recognise and exploit the business opportunities provided by IT and look for new ways of conducting and establishing new business opportunities, so an eye for innovation in an IT context [is essential].

"IT is now not just about programming," he added. "It is, and should be, an integral part of the business."