Standardizing IT skill sets

There is an effort under way in the IT industry to standardize skill sets. And the organization that is helping to set those standards is looking for help from IT managers.

The Computing Technology Industry Association launched a survey aimed at gathering important information about the field of information technology (to take the survey, head to: https://www.comptia.org/pressroom/news/participationguide.pdf).

The results of the survey will lend a hand to the final phase of what has been an ongoing project for CompTIA.

According to Paul Slomski, business development manager for the Workforce Development Group of CompTIA, the results of the survey will be used to validate the work the organization has already done in developing clusters of IT jobs.

The project started with a grant from the National Skills Board, which asked CompTIA to help in developing a universal view of IT skill sets.

CompTIA gathered information that led to the creation of seven job clusters: database development and administration; Web development; technical writer; network devices; network infrastructure; programming; and digital media.

Within each of these clusters is a description that shows what the qualifications are to be put in this grouping.

Slomski says that the results of all of this work will be threefold:

*IT workers can use it as a benchmark to gather training for a certain job cluster or to create a career path.

*Human Resources personnel can use the information to help find qualified candidates for IT positions or to create career paths for current employees.

*IT organizations can use the various concentrations to create a structure for their organization, putting employees into logical groupings.

Slomski says CompTIA will publish the results by early August. It will also meld those results into its Tech Career Compass (http://www.tcc.comptia.org) – a free online career guidance tool for HR professionals and IT workers.