Stirring the Licensing Pot

A while back I wrote about whether or not the IT field should be
subject to licensure (http://www.itworld.com/nl/cert_news/10222001).
Because it hits so close to home for all of us, that issue evoked the
biggest response I've ever received from a newsletter column. Nobody
wants to be locked out of a career or kicked out of an existing job
because some government body suddenly decides to require a license.

The debate centered on the development of a governing, licensing body --
like the Bar Association for attorneys -- that would grant licenses to
IT professionals, set standards, and establish minimum requirements.
Despite some exceptions, the overwhelming feeling among my readers is
that this should not happen.

Minimum Standards
An argument can be made, however, that certifications are largely
vendor-oriented and, as such, do not necessarily cover the basic
competencies required to carry out an IT-related job. Assuming basic
competency, most certifications are concerned with questions like:

* Can you run a Microsoft network?
* Can you configure a Cisco router?
* Do you know how to set up a Novell directory?

Mind you, these are important questions if that is the type of
equipment you plan to be working on, but let's look underneath the
vendor level for a minute. Not all knowledge in the IT field relates to
specific vendor products. For example, the distance between routers in
a 100Mbps Ethernet network is always 100 meters, regardless your type
of router.

Knowledge of such under-the-hood basics transcends vendors and are as
important as knowing the specifics of how to configure a Windows
network. Therefore, I suggest that possessing both a vendor-specific
and a vendor-neutral certification would be prudent. Whether there
should be a single, all-encompassing and required certification and
licensure is another kettle of fish entirely.

An Example from the North
In Canada, the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS)
(http://www.cips.ca) has established a base level of practical,
ethical, and public protection standards to which all members agree to
adhere. CIPS does not grant licenses (there is no licensing requirement
in Canada, or anywhere else that I am aware of), but they do have a
vendor-neutral certification called the Information Systems
Professional (ISP), which CIPS' Karen Lopez sees as being highly
complementary to vendor certifications.

Unlike other vendor-neutral certifications, the ISP designation does
not address a specific subfield, such as Java programming. The ISP
designation shows employers that you possess a certain level of
training and experience in the field of information technology, hold to
a set of established standards, and obtained a basic level of general
competence.

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