Unions and Sector Associations

Sector associations

Professionals in any field require a place which they can look to for solace when times get hard. As such, there are always organizations cropping up with the aim of helping professionals gain some footing in their respective industries. The Information Technology (IT) industry is not behind on this practice, and many bodies are working towards bettering the lives of employees in this sector.

Below, find some of the organizations which gear towards helping people in the IT departments reach their full potential.

CEPIS (Brussels)

Over time, there has been a need for companies to come up with a way to gauge an IT employee’s skills to ensure that they are competent for the tasks ahead. For a long time, firms hired people without knowing what to look for and why and they often ended up with people whose skills were not a match for their IT needs. This body is one of the few that has come forward to advocate for the need for a standard which companies can use in recruiting their employees.

What’s more, they promote that companies take a keen interest in their IT departments so that they can figure out what their needs are and which roles require filling. It is only through such measures that IT employees can utilize their skills at optimum levels. It also works to the benefit of companies if there is a global standard which applies to all employees.

CIGREF (France)

The IT department grows with each day as more needs come up in the technology industry. As such, there is a need for continuous evaluation of the job descriptions and the roles that go with the titles. This association works at looking at the critical competencies required for each job group based on the needs of the market and thus classifies IT employees based on such. In this way, companies can figure out who to hire based on their vacant positions.

This classification also motivates people in the IT sector to work hard such that they can have qualifications good enough to work in the highest job groups. This continuous assessment ensures that both companies and employees can recognize when some skills are no longer useful in the industry and act accordingly.

IT departments worldwide

CIO Net (Belgium)

Standards are necessary for any profession. Not only do they act as guides to people in the industry regarding ways to go about their jobs but they also ensure that people behave ethically, making sure that there is fair play. As such, CIO Net aims at having standard IT skills throughout Europe which will make training and recruitment easy for all member nations.

When everyone is aware of the skills considered to be necessary for a given job description, companies can then source for talent across Europe knowing that the classification is neutral across all nations. It also encourages employees to work harder in the development of their skills so that they can attract more companies. There is also ongoing work towards professionalizing the IT industry which will promote the capabilities of the people in this sector. The idea is similar to casual gaming becoming professional and the emergence of eSports (LoL, HS, SC). This industry is so popular and well developed that the number of csgo bookmakers is constantly increasing and the options for people who like to test their luck or strategies are expanding.

EeSA (Brussels)

This association supports the coming up with one language in which all IT professionals can communicate. Having standard competencies is a primary focus of this association as it works to promote the adoption of the skills classifications which will make the management of people in the profession much easier.

Various multinational companies are working with EeSA in the realization of its dream which is to have a neutral standard that works across all the European countries for better management of skills.

European CIO Association (Europe)

The European CIO Association is in support of the coming up with standard competencies and is already putting them to use at present. The chairman of the board, Freddy Van den Wyngaert, emphasizes that the association’s focus is on education, talent, and e-skills. Through the promoting of these focuses, the regulation of the IT industry will become manageable, and players in the industry will have to conform to the new norms. As such, IT specialists will have avenues in which to develop their skills while companies will have adequate talent pools from which to recruit employees.

European DIGITAL DME Alliance (Brussels)

The skills of an IT employee often boil down to what they learned in school. As such, you will come across employees in the IT sector who both went to school, and yet they work very differently. While some of the factors behind this disparity may arise from exposure, schoolwork also has a crucial role in the difference. This organization recognizes the role of institutions in shaping the minds of IT specialists and therefore focuses on advocating for a harmonized ICT curriculum. In this way, students in the IT sector will learn similar things which will enable them to compete when it comes to IT competencies competitively.

Technology is here to stay, and as such, there is a need for regulation in the sector. With these associations advocating for the need for competencies, the IT sector will soon have adequate standards to ensure that IT practices across the European countries get harmonized.