CITP's Rule!

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There was a really interesting article in this week's edition of Computing Magazine regarding BCS' intent on trying to get employers to place more recognition in CITP. They claim that in doing so, companies will be less likely to 'get into trouble' as it were by over-running on projects and consequently spending more money than intended (amongst other things).

I would love to attain CITP one day but the cynic in me cannot help that the BCS are only doing this to try and increase their member numbers and in turn generate more revenue. Someone from the IET also commented on the issue, plugging the IET's chartered designation (CEng).

I'd be interested to hear other peoples opinions.....

 

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If you read some of my other BCS posts you'll see that I've hinted there are big moves afoot to really get CITP recognised and some changes to come will help that and address the concernes that have been raised by Members. It's nothing to do with revenue as the BCS is a Registered Charity with a Trustee Board and they have to be very careful about making "profit".

You'll also see I was somewhat disenchanted with the IET's attitude to my tentative membership enquiry and so, personally, I don't see them as a viable alternative (for me). As for CEng - so what ?! Can't say I would really see this as being appropriate for some areas of IT such as service management etc. although I do appreciate that it is appropriate in some areas such as software engineering or very advanced network infrastructure design.

I'm sure you'll see in the changes coming over the next 18 months that the BCS will be repositioned to be regarded as the appropriate body for IT professionals and that the Chartered award will be regarded much more highly.

 

The very same article did metion the forthcoming 'changes' within the BCS and I have read previous posts by you regarding this but I didn't mention it as you have stated on previous posts that you are restricted from giving certain information.

Don't get me wrong, I am very Pro BCS and really love being a member but to anyone who isn't a member, that artricle could have read that the BCS were only interested in increasing their member base. Are you able to say whether these 'changes' will affect MBCS members UKDarkstar?

 

There are all sorts of things in the offing. I don't know in what order they are being implemented; Committee members attending the last convention were just told they would start this September and roll out over the next 18 months.

Non-Members obviously have not been sent material that Members have although I appreciate there was, perhaps, not much "meat" on what was said.

Just a few more weeks to wait

 

I got awarded my CITP status today - really chuffed, no extra interview or anything - they didn't contact me or my supporter (though I had done an interview recently with ISEB for my BA diploma)
One of my friends applied last week and he has been given option to postpone his application until the new CITP launches or progress with existing version now

 

Personally, I'm still a cynic. Can't help it. When CITP starts appearing as a desirable certification on jobs that I'm interested in then I'll be after it like a shot. Plus I may need to upgrade my HND to a BSc for one of the CITP pre-reqs (Can anyone confirm this? I'm lazy.)

Until then I'll keep my annual subcription fee thank you very much, and spend it on self-study books, beer and loose women.

My two cents.

Qs

 

Physically loose?

 

I'm a new member and thought I'd start with a whinge.

The problems that I've had with any certifications are that senior, respected people in companies who don't appreciate certifications (or are bitter about them) can create a negative view of certification and people may not do them because of that.
Another problem is that in a recession, companies may not see certification as important and won't fund them or view obtained certification as worthy of reward.
Finally, companies turn to internal training to support their own systems which leads to development "in-breeding".

All of these cause a negative view of certification as people have to invest their own money into something which is of unmeasurable value. Companies lose out and look to other ways to compensate e.g. off-shore. The whole thing is a cycle of problems. This is a whinge based on experience.

And now with the CITP changing, is there a risk that existing CITP's in companies may not respect the effort put in by new CITP's and possibly limit their value.

Cheers.

 

I disagree with your CITP comment - if anything newer CITP's who have had to be assessed may feel "superior" to those of us who haven't BUT that isn't the real issue.

New CITP's have to have their certificate of competancy. Existing CITP's don't have to have this to retain the membership grade and post-nominals but may apply if they wish.

Apart from that there is the whole recognition issue (which BCS is working on) to get companies to recognise CITP.

As to your other comments re certs in general there may be many reasons why individuals or companies respect or ignore certs - probably best for a sep thread or a RL debate with some alcohol !

 

I hope to do the new one soon. It will be a challenge, having reviewed the requirements but my experience should be ok. I'm just aware that it is time and money (I have to pay for it).

I'm concerned that my employer's HR teams will not understand the CITP effort and not reward someone for it.

So I'd be doing it for a sense of achievement + pride. Yes, I know that these days, getting a qualification does not mean pay rise but it will require some effort on my part that I would like to be rewarded.

 

I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing here

You do understand that CITP is Chartered IT Professional. It is an award given based on experience and an interview with a competancy test. There is no study course or anything for it.

 

I agree with what you've said, and the description of the CITP. I think my thoughts are not leaving my head properly.

If your employer has a list of your skills and regular reviews document your achievements, what would be gained by spending time doing the paperwork, sitting the exam and the interview for the CITP? Who do you need to demonstrate your skills to?

If "others" is a customer and your employer uses your CITP to demonstrate competance to the customer then I think you deserve something for your effort?

Through my work with the BCS locally, we are seeing a lack of IT qualifications after degree level. Employers simply do not need to recognise skills formally. Their own internal systems record and rate skills and competance. This leads to employees not pursuing further qualifications.

Maybe I'm just dealing with the wrong employers.

 

Thanks for the discussion.

BTW: I did not mean that there were a lack of qualifications available - I meant that there was a lack of people with those qualifications because (from general feedback) they did not feel it important. The reason was that they felt employers did not value it.

So perhaps the problem is - should employers encourage it? should they even have to?