Public sector ICT technicians are to be offered the ability to join a new register to recognise their skills.
BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT today announced the creation of a new UK standard – the Register for IT Technicians (RITTech), which will join existing registration schemes RSciTech and EngTech – for science and engineering technicians respectively.
It said that the register would provide a benchmark of capabilities and enable employers in both the public and private sector to have more confidence when recruiting staff.
BCS president Jos Creese said: “Up until now there has been no widely accepted industry standard for IT Technicians, yet business dependence on technology has made these roles more critical than ever.”
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Candidates will register via an online assessment and need to be verified by somebody who knows their work well, often this is a line manager, BCS said.
Registrants will be required to demonstrate their professionalism, skills and knowledge against their chosen core technical area.
The register will be public, enabling employers to check if job applicants have obtained RITTech status.
Chi Onwurah, shadow minister for business, innovation and skills, welcomed the initiative, saying: “As a chartered engineer myself I know the advantage that professional registration brings to the sector, helping employers to distinguish, recruit and retain people with the right capabilities, boosting the status of the profession and helping the UK to compete in a global market place.”