Stirring the Licensing Pot

by Dan Blacharski

April 1, 2002 —

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. It's a worthwhile way to show the basic level of competence
that everyone needs before they get into the nuts and bolts of specific
vendor programs.

CIPS is a similar body to the ICCP in the United States or the British
Computing Society in the UK. According to their mission statement, the
group does have much grander plans than just providing another
certification; their work "is dedicated to establishing a registered
and regulated information systems profession in Canada as well as to
establishing the groundwork for a fully licensed profession."

Seeing that, I asked Lopez about the licensing aspect of CIPS, but this
apparently is not likely to happen in the foreseeable future. An IEEE
report, "Managing a Mature Profession," makes a very clear and precise
definition of a "mature profession." Those professions not identified
as "mature" by this narrow definition are not ready for licensing. "I
believe that we, as IT professionals, could be now working as a mature
profession, but I don't think we are completely.

The main distinction I believe is, "there seems not to be a clear
definition of who has the right qualifications." In a mature
profession, such as Accounting or Law, a very precise criteria -- in
terms of specific courses of study and specific exams that must be
passed -- must be met for entry into the profession. You can't practice
law by going to the law library and teaching yourself. Mature
professions also have a Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK) for standards
and practice -- no single CBOK encompasses all IT professional areas of
practice.

Having gotten the licensing bug out of the way, I'll close on this
note: A vendor-independent, basic certification like the CIPS ISP is an
excellent way to show that you understand the basic IT foundation upon
which vendor-specific technologies are built. Accompanied by more
specific, vendor certifications, the ISP and other certifications like
it will make you more marketable and will ultimately advance the public
trust placed into our industry.

ITworld