Recruiters endorse IT skills profiling programme

The SKILLSCERT programme, which enables individuals and organisations to profile, validate and certify the job roles and skills of ICT professionals, is becoming more widely recognised amongst Irish recruiters. SKILLSCERT is administered in Ireland by ICS SKILLS, the training and certification body of the Irish Computer Society. The SKILLSCERT programme has gained more prominence with the recent news that Irelandís largest recruitment and HR Solutions organisation, Cpl Solutions, has partnered with ICS SKILLS, in the delivery of the programme nationwide.

Cpl Solutions has core strengths in IT recruitment and the organisation operates on a national basis through offices in Dublin, Kildare, Westmeath, Limerick, Cork and Galway. Three of the organisationís IT consultants are currently undergoing training from ICS SKILLS in SKILLSCERT consultancy.

Commenting on the development Cpl Solutions MD Aaron OíBrien said ìSKILLSCERT addresses many of the issues facing the IT recruitment industry today. Despite the challenging and rewarding career opportunities that the IT industry offers, communication sometimes fails because there is no standardised language for describing job roles and the skills needed to fulfil them. As job titles become increasingly company-specific, their value diminishes. As a common framework SKILLSCERT enables employers, candidates and recruiters to identify precisely their requirements. Add to this the ability of companies to perform an accurate skills audit for identifying recruitment needs, and SKILLSCERT is an excellent programme for HR and IT managers to implement.î


The SKILLSCERT programme utilises a custom built online application to enable ICT practitioners to profile their particular skill sets as they relate to their jobs and the level of responsibility they command in the workplace. SKILLSCERT utilises SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age) to aid the profiling process. SFIA is internationally accepted as the definitive classification of job roles and skills in the ICT sector. Following independent verification of the profile by ICS SKILLS a certificate is issued which verifies the IT professionalís skills.

SKILLSCERT provides IT departments with a ìskills auditî which helps them to identify skills gaps and to project future skills needs. For the IT industry, it provides a frame of reference, which can be used by job seekers, IT practitioners, employers, project managers, recruitment specialists and training providers alike. Revenue, Musgraves Supervalu Centra and EHSS have all completed SKILLSCERT programmes within the IT departments of their organisations. The Dublin Academic Teaching Hospitals are next in line to launch SKILLSCERT in the near future.

FS has recognised the potential of SKILLSCERT in the development of the IT industry, and has included it in the Competency Development Programme which provides up to 70% funding for eligible organisations who implement it.

CPL consultants join others from EPC Resourcing and Sureskills in providing consultants to manage the SKILLSCERT programme in-house for companies.

For more information on SKILLSCERT contact Mary Cleary, mary@ics.ie or visit