The Irish government has acknowledged the need to boost economic performance and competitiveness nationally and has identified IT as a key driver in achieving this. In pursuit of this agenda FÁS, the national training and employment authority, has launched a number of IT related funding initiatives. The organisation recently announced the national funding of SKILLSCERT, the ICS SKILLS profiling system, based on SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age). SFIA is internationally accepted as the definitive classification of job roles and skills in the ICT sector.

The national implementation of SKILLSCERT has been supported by FÁS to benefit organisations and their staff and act as an enabler of industry to generate a common skills language. Fluency in this language will standardise job descriptions and facilitate the promotion of IT careers. SKILLSCERT will enable ICT organisations and departments to project future skills needs - a valuable outcome for the industry, which is facing a considerable skills shortage if current trends continue.

SKILLSCERT enables individuals and organisations to profile, validate and certify their job roles and skills as ICT professionals, to a consistent and recognised standard. It achieves this by providing a formalised means of appraising the skills and responsibility levels of candidates. IT professionals achieve certification of their skill and responsibility levels from ICS SKILLS on completion of the programme. However the SKILLSCERT process itself offers considerable benefits for both the individual and organisation.

The profiling procedure facilitates communication and dialogue in a commonly understood language between managers and their staff. Prior to the actual assessment the candidate is encouraged to reflect on their job role and the degree to which their abilities and skills are exploited and utilised for the benefit of the organisation. The candidate then performs the assessment, determines their level on the SKILLSCERT framework and submits it for approval to their manager. It is then validated by the provision of supporting evidence and by an internal verification process within the organisation. When the assessment is complete, the candidate will have gained a clear view of their position in the organisation, and will have a valuable statement of their competence and skills. They will be in a stronger position to set personal objectives and plan further professional development, with a view to advancing themselves in the organisation.

To streamline and simplify profiling, managers and staff are provided with a custom built online application called SKILLSCERT Manager. This software allows the organisation to easily assess information on its overall IT skills cohort. It incorporates powerful analysis and reporting tools that can be used to identify skills shortages, highlight career paths for individual staff, aid goal setting, trend analysis and planning.

SKILLSCERT provides independent guidance from ICS SKILLS on the entire procedure. ICS SKILLS verifies each candidate’s profile to ensure that procedures have been adhered to, thus standardising the whole process. ICS SKILLS awards a detailed SKILLSCERT Certification to the individual IT professional and also to the organisation.

SKILLSCERT is ideal for use in conjunction with annual staff reviews, because it can present staff profiles, achievements and future goals, to provide an invaluable, annual organisational review.

For the IT industry, SKILLSCERT provides a frame of reference, which can be used by job seekers, IT practitioners, employers, project managers, recruitment specialists and training providers alike. This will facilitate policy makers in the matching of technology development to national needs.

FÁS has recognised the potential of SKILLSCERT in the development of the IT industry, and has included it in the Competency Development Programme which provides 60% funding for organisations who implement it. ICS SKILLS provides a trained consultant to manage the programme in-house for companies who take it on, reducing the onus on HR managers who can use the resulting reports for high level resource planning.

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