As President of the CIPS Alberta (Canadian Information Processing Society of Alberta), I would like to respond to Mr. Robert Ford’s remarks in his recent article “Who’s afraid of career change?” ( Best Places to Work in High Tech, Feb. 2001).
Our membership was very concerned with the statements “…dump the notion that IT is a profession…there are no legislated standards for the profession. There is no widely-accepted certifying body similar to professional engineering or accounting designations.”
So, by nature of this letter, I would like to educate/inform both Mr. Ford and others of the definite negation to his statements. CIPS Alberta IS the regulating body for the I.S.P. designation under the Professional and Occupational Associations Registration ACT (POARA) of Alberta. We are proud to have been the first jurisdiction in North America to formally regulate and recognize an Information Systems/Information Technology designation. The I.S.P. IS based on a national standard supporting portability and uniformity of practice across Canada and around the world. CIPS Alberta and the I.S.P. designation provide both consumers and businesses today with a way to ensure that competent and ethical professionals are serving them. To date, both CIPS Ontario and CIPS BC have also achieved respective registration of the I.S.P., and other provinces are diligently working towards the same goal.
CIPS Alberta is focused on the IT consumer to increase the demand by the public to have trusted, competent and professional computer people working with them. As technology becomes more pervasive in business and lifestyles, the need for IT/IS professionals, thus the I.S.P., also becomes critical.
Otherwise, Mr. Ford has reaffirmed our need for more agressive marketing and visibility throughout Canada to ensure our industry authors are well-informed of the value and benefits an I.S.P. holder brings to the IT consumer.
Sabina Posadziejewski, I.S.P.
President, CIPS Alberta
