The Information Technology committee of the Ontario Association of School Board Officials is backing an IT professional designation that they believe will protect Ontario residents and the information that IT workers handle electronically.
In a collaborative agreement with the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS), the Information Technology Committee of the Ontario Association of School Board Officials (OASBO-IT) is promoting CIPS membership and the Information Systems Professional (I.S.P.) designation to its public sector IT employees in Ontario. OASBO-IT is planning to execute promotional efforts through its committee and through the creation of a professional development program to be offered at Guelph University. CIPS will have a leadership role in the development of the curriculum for this program.
“As fellow IT practitioners, we recognize the importance of IT professionalism, especially in the wake of technology glitches that have occurred in various industries in the past year. We want to be able to demonstrate to the educational community that we take IT professionalism seriously and that we don’t undertake IT projects we are not qualified to do,” said Sean Heuchert, OASBO-IT Vice Chair. “In addition, we believe that the I.S.P. is a good way for our IT staff to demonstrate that they keep their knowledge and skills up-to-date and that they abide by a Code of Ethics.”
Under this arrangement, CIPS membership and the I.S.P. designation will reinforce existing ethical and professional responsibilities among public sector IT employees.