To follow on from this news post.

First steps towards a global ICT profession

The International Professional Practice Partnership (IP3) announced today that the Australian Computer Society (ACS) had become the first professional body to be accredited to award the new International IT Professional (IITP) certification. The accreditation covers the members holding the ACS Computer Professional (CP) status.

IP3 is a programme of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), a non-governmental, non-profit umbrella organization created under the auspices of UNESCO for national societies working in the field of information processing.

IITP is the first international certification of ICT professionals under the International Professional Practice Partnership (IP3) and is awarded to professionals who have obtained an approved qualification from an accredited body, usually the IFIP Member Society in the region.

A panel of senior IP3 assessors together with an independent assessor visited ACS in July. The accreditation process included meetings with senior management of the Society, as well as stakeholders and members of ACS professional division. The panel examined the core body of knowledge and competencies and skills underlying the Professional Status; the requirements for renewal of the qualification including continuing professional development; implementation of the code of ethics; and the capability of the organization to manage a certification scheme, including quality assurance, validation of information and governance.

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Since the release of the above information, CIPS (the BCS counterpart in Canada) will be offering the IITP when it goes live in 2009, see here. I am currently waiting to here back from the BCS on their involvement

-Ken