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Currently, in most, if not all States, when you
hire an electrician to wire your house, that
person has been tested and licensed by your
State Department of Licensing and Regulation.
The same is true of plumbers, barbers,
beauticians, etc.
But,
if you hire a computer consultant to design a
critical computer application or troubleshoot
your computer network problems, you are
basically on your own. You have no assurance,
vis-à-vis a State issued license, that this
person is qualified to perform the task at hand.
 In
the U. S. today, the very critical
field/profession of information technology, and
those who practice that profession, is
While a comprehensive certification program,
complete with code of ethics, recertification
continuing education requirements and holistic
testing of a person’s level of comprehension of
the information technology “body of knowledge”
has existed for years through the cooperative
efforts of the large information technology
professional societies in the U. S. and Canada,
it has not been completely supported by those in
the profession.
While State legislatures have promulgated
hundreds of licensing requirements for the
general protection of the public in fields such
as accounting, healthcare, law and other
professions and trades,
How
is the public protected when the CPA and the
physician, while knowledgeable in their fields,
are relying more and more on the results
provided to them by various computer systems in
order to make critical decisions, especially,
when they have no assurance that the people who
designed, tested and installed those computer
systems were competent to do so.
I
believe the answer is certification, and
voluntary licensing of professionals engaged in
various forms of computer consulting.
While it is not my nature to advocate more
government in our lives, I have become convinced
that, since the business community has not
demanded a uniform system of certification, it
falls to the legislatures of the 50 states to
agree on a standard that the competency of
computer professionals can be measured against -
much like the CPA certification in the public
accounting field.
The good news is the
solution already exists - all the States have to
do is codify and adopt it. |
The
Institute for the Certification of Computing
Professionals (ICCP) was formed in 1973,
through the cooperation of several large
professional information technology societies,
as it relates to the emerging and expanding Body
of Knowledge that represents the computer
industry.
The
resulting certification, the Certified Computing
Professional (CCP), is patterned after the CPA
certification. It includes a multifaceted
series of examinations designed to test an
applicant’s overall knowledge of the field, a
work experience requirement before certification
is granted, a code of ethics ascribed to by
certificate holders to protect employers,
clients and the general public and an ongoing
continuing education requirement to ensure that
certificate holders stay current with changes in
the profession and in the Body of Knowledge.
The
examination test items are also continuously
being reviewed to ensure that the examinations
themselves remain current and relevant in terms
of the Body of Knowledge.
As
our society has become more and more dependent
on computers in our everyday lives, and in
critical areas such as health, safety, commerce
and even the military defense of our country,
(CCP) as the certification
vehicle for those who practice in the
information technology profession.
And
yes, if the only way to accomplish this is
professional licensing by the States of CCP’s,
then so be it.
Larry Schmitz, CCP, CMC is the 1999 President -
Association of Information Technology
Professionals, a member of the Board of
Regents, Foundation for Information Technology
Education, member of the Board of Directors,
Institute for the Certification of Computing
Professionals and retired Executive
Officer-Management Consulting of Schenck
Information Technology Solutions . He also
served as President of Strategies & Solutions,
an IBM Premier
Business Partner and spent a number of years
heading up Price Waterhouse’s consulting
practice in Wisconsin. After 30 years in the IT
consulting field, Mr. Schmitz believes now is
the time for the profession and the State
regulatory bodies to come together in
establishing professional standards and
voluntary licensing in this critical field. He
can be reached at
(800)236-2246 or emailed at
104356.25@compuserve.com
06/07/04
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