ëSuper breedí IT professional needed for 21stC business, says BCS

A new ësuper breedí of IT professionalówith comprehensive business, leadership, and communication skillsóis required to deliver the information needs of 21st Century organisations, a British Computer Society (BCS) workshop will reveal later this month.

This new type of worker could in fact find themselves influencing the strategic direction of companies, BCS Chief Professional Development Consultant Mike Chad is expected to tell key decision-makers at the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) event in London.

The half-day workshop will use examples to show organisationsí senior IT, human resources and business managers how the programmeóof which BCS was one of four founding membersócan be used to consolidate and further their firmsí IT skills and services, according to consistent and industry-approved standards of professionalism.

Mike says: ìDemand for IT workers has shifted from the basic ability to automate business processes, to those who have a strategic view of the world, and can deliver innovation which transforms the business.î

There are many examples, explains Mike. Obvious successes include the move towards on-line retailing by big high street names, where the availability of technology has been a major catalyst. Technology has driven fundamental change, not only in the customer interface, but throughout the whole supply chain, allowing orders placed today to be delivered tomorrow, often direct from the manufacturer.

He adds: ìIT workers must have a professional attitude, and accept full accountability for the consequences of their recommendations. HR departments and senior managers need to respond to this trend by assessing their staff according to nationally agreed standards, such as SFIA.î

SFIA, which is supported by the BCSís Professionalism in IT programme, provides employers of IT staff with a common framework of referenceóincluding a skills audit, planning future skill requirements, development programmes, standardisation of job titles and functions, and resource allocation.

The tool could help employers with everything from advertising positions available at certain grades, to putting forward teams that match internal and external clientsí briefs.

The trend towards off-shoring IT skills in emerging economies such as India has also created different expectations of Britainís 1 million-strong IT workforce, Mike believes.

He concludes: ìWe are seeing IT becoming endemic, in the sense that everybody in business is using it, and needs to understand it. The demand for the IT professional who can build bridges between the business, and the providers of commodity technical skills, has never been greater.î

David Clarke, BCS chief executive, says: ìIT has become integral to the success of business in the way that legal and accountancy professionals have over the past 20 years. 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 this.î

The workshop, on 26 February, is at the BCSís London Office, at 5 Southampton Street, London. For more information on the SFIA programme contact: 01793 417 441 or see: