CITP Status Set to be Awarded by More IT Bodies

The British Computer Society (BCS) has voted in favour of creating a registration body to license other organisations to award the Chartered IT Professional (CITP) qualification. Currently, only The British Computer Society can confer chartered status on IT professionals in the United Kingdom.

The vote, which took place on Thursday, 6th November 2008, was carried with 91.2% of the society's professional members that voted being in favour.

The vote means that the BCS will now seek the approval of The Privy Council, which oversees the chartered professions in the UK, for the change to be made. Once this is given, the BCS will be able license other bodies to make the award, while its maintains both ownership and control of the standard, which will make the qualification open to members of other professional societies involved in Information Technology.

BCS President Alan Pollard is quoted as saying "The IT profession now encompasses everything from business change to service delivery, from information security to solutions architecture. Consequently there are significant numbers of IT professionals belonging to other professional bodies in areas such as engineering, accountancy and information management.

"By licensing other bodies to award CITP, we can join forces to make it a truly world class standard, increasing the recognition and standing of the profession in the UK and internationally."

The Chartered IT Professional (CITP) qualification is on a par with other chartered qualifications in the United Kingdom, such as chartered accountants and chartered surveyors; and is regarded as such by HM Government.