Technologists working in the field of public services now have some profound responsibilities, which should be accompanied by greater safeguards provided by professional bodies, argues Nicole Symes Frazer of BCS
Last month, during the second ever Chartered Week, more than 40 professional bodies representing over 1.5 million professionals wrote to government with a simple message: if the UK wants to rebuild trust in public services and deliver reliable digital systems, it must take professional standards seriously.
The signatories, spanning fields from engineering and science to procurement, law and IT, argued that chartered and professional bodies should be seen as key partners in the renewal of our economy and the public services people rely on every day. For the digital and IT sector in particular, this message could not be more timely.
Government is asking technology to carry an enormous weight in the delivery of its priorities. From modernising the NHS and improving local public services to delivering AI-enabled productivity and strengthening cyber-resilience, digital systems now underpin almost every ambition of the modern state. Yet while the scale of ambition has grown, the conversation around professionalism in the digital workforce has not always kept pace.
In sectors such as medicine, law, accountancy, and engineering, professional standards are widely understood and championed. There are recognised routes into the profession, defined competencies, clear codes of conduct and chartered status that signals both expertise and accountability. Digital and IT should be no different.
One practical step would be for the civil service to more actively encourage, and in some roles mandate, professional registration for digital and technology professionals.
Software systems now shape decisions about welfare payments, healthcare access, policing, taxation and education. They are also central to the UK’s national security infrastructure, from defence logistics and intelligence systems to cyber operations protecting the country’s critical networks. The people designing and managing these systems are making choices with profound public consequences. In that context, professionalism is not a ‘nice to have’, it is a fundamental safeguard.
Government therefore has an opportunity to lead by example.
One practical step would be for the civil service to more actively encourage, and in some roles mandate, professional registration for digital and technology professionals. Just as engineers working on infrastructure projects are often expected to pursue chartered status, so too should those responsible for designing and managing critical digital systems.
This is not about creating unnecessary barriers to entry. The best professional frameworks are designed to widen access, not restrict it.
Professional bodies provide structured pathways into the profession, including apprenticeships, early-career accreditation and clear progression routes. They help individuals from diverse backgrounds develop their skills, gain recognition and build long-term careers, while maintaining consistent standards across a rapidly evolving sector.
That consistency is really important. In an increasingly digital world, technologies change quickly, but the principles of professionalism do not.
Competence, ethical judgement, security awareness and responsibility for the impact of one’s work remain constant foundations, and they are vital to maintaining public trust.
Professional frameworks can also help address one of the recurring challenges in government technology programmes: continuity of expertise.
Teams change, contractors move on, and institutional knowledge can be lost. This is particularly important in long-term programmes such as defence capability development, where digital systems underpin everything from equipment support to operational planning. Professional standards help anchor skills and good practice in a way that outlasts individual projects or political cycles.
Economic opportunity
They also play a crucial role in translating emerging technologies into responsible practice. As tools like artificial intelligence move rapidly from experimentation into real-world deployment, the day-to-day decisions about how these systems are designed, trained, and implemented are often made by practitioners themselves. Embedding strong professional standards in that workforce provides an important layer of assurance.
There is also a much broader economic opportunity.
The UK has long benefitted from the international reputation of its chartered professions. Chartered engineers, accountants and surveyors are recognised worldwide as benchmarks of expertise and integrity. Strengthening similar recognition in digital and IT would reinforce the UK’s position as a trusted place to develop and deploy technology.
None of this replaces the need for innovation, agility or entrepreneurial thinking in the technology sector. Rather, professionalism provides the foundation that allows those qualities to flourish safely.
As government increasingly relies on technology to deliver its priorities, the professionalism of the people building those systems will matter as much as the technology itself.
Championing professional standards in digital and IT is therefore not simply about recognising individual achievement. It is about building the trust, reliability and accountability that modern digital government demands.
One practical step would be for the civil service to more actively encourage, and in some roles mandate, professional registration for digital and technology professionals.
Nicole Symes Frazer (pictured above) is head of defence and government at BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
