BCS demands respect for IT staff

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 29 Jun 2007 at 15:45

The British Computer Society is urging the IT industry to show more professionalism in order to achieve boardroom recognition.

The BCS says IT doesn't earn the same level of respect as more established professions, such as accountancy and law. "CIOs and CTOs don't always get places on the board," says Adam Thilthorpe, professionalism in IT project manager at the BCS. "If professionals get the feeling IT is below board [level], it's hard to attract the best and most talented people into the industry."

Whilst accountants and lawyers have industry-wide qualifications to aspire to, the breadth of different computing skills make it difficult to implement industry-wide IT credentials.

Nevertheless, the BCS says it wants to build a qualifications and competency framework. "Other professions have been able to come to these qualifications over the space of 200 years. Computers only started to appear on desks in the mid 1980s. They've had a lot longer to establish practices - we're under pressure to do the same, in a much shorter timeframe," Thilthorpe adds.

And it's not only technical skills that the BCS wants to improve: Thilthorpe says IT professionals must have a greater understanding of business practice and better presentation skills if they're to break through to board level.

To find out more about the BCS-backed Prof IT Alliance click here.