Skills Cert is an accreditation framework for IT job skills. It was created in response to demand within the profession for formal recognition of various professional capabilities. IT professionals within the ICS found that there was little or no industry standard for defining job roles and that those definitions which did exist were often solely based around the technology being used. In addition to this many professionals found that a lot of skills were acquired in an informal manner during the course of their work and that it was difficult to gain formal recognition for them. Non-IT skills also often went unrecognised, despite the fact that they are usually critical to individual's ability to perform their job.

Skills Cert has attempted to tackle many of these concerns within a single framework. The programme involves three core elements. The first stage involves assessing an individual's skills set and each participant defines their skills profile by gauging their competency on a wide range of skills used within the IT profession. To ensure accuracy, the next step is validation of this assessment and this is usually undertaken by the individual's manager and an independent verifier within the organisation. Finally, certification is then awarded by ICS Skills following external validation. The framework follows a proven model developed in the UK with the cooperation of the British Computer Society and industry leaders such as Cisco, IBM, and BT Cellnet.

Many of those who have already undertaken the Skills Cert programme have since joined the Irish Computer Society, recognising the opportunity to go further down the path of professional development.

SkillsCert is currently available to organisations who wish to implement the framework among IT staff. However, the ICS is working to develop a Skills Cert framework for individuals who wish to be accredited.

For information contact ICS SKILLS:
Tel: 01 644 7820
Email: info@ics.ie