ITP Techblog

Here's a quick weekly update from ITP CEO Paul Matthews

It's been a huge year, with the top 10 projects for ITP outlined last week. But as we wind up for the year this week, I thought I'd outline what's in store for 2020. 

Across the four key strategic areas of developing professionals, recognising professionals, growing the profession and recognising the profession, we have a raft of both business-as-usual and new projects in 2020.

So, what is in store for ITP in 2020?

Our work in 2020 is a continuation of the direction we've been travelling in recent years, with renewed focus on helping our members grow as professionals, continuing to work on the pathways into our industry, and ensuring lots of opportunities for our professional community to come together to network and learn. 

ITP has a Vision as the authoritative voice of the IT profession that leads professional development and good practice in IT, and we take this really seriously. Professional development and good practice are core to success in our industry and its our job to help our members achieve this.

Our planned projects for 2020 include the following:

Developing Professionals

ITP develops Digital and IT Professionals at all stages of their career, from students to senior professionals and everywhere in between.

This includes supporting students and others transitioning into our profession and supporting existing professionals with their career and professional progression including developing skills and moving into new roles as the industry changes.

For 2020, this will include:

• Providing an industry skills self-assessment service - we've been working on options for a self-assessment tool, likely based on the SFIA framework, so members can easily and confidentially benchmark their skills using international standards. This will identify gaps to help them get ahead, and is core to a well structured professional development approach. 

• Pairing you with mentors - we have a mentoring programme now, however for a while now we've been working on streamlining the service and making it a core part of every professional's development. This got pushed back this year with some other projects coming out of left-field, but is ready to go for early 2020.

• The ITx 2020 Conference - to help our members come together, learn, develop and network. This will be later in the year in 2020, details to be announced soon. And as always, we'll be running a heap of events and workshops across New Zealand, both in-person and digitally delivered.

Recognising Professionals

As the professional body for the digital and information technology profession, ITP is the authority that recognises digital technology professionals.

This includes accrediting and endorsing appropriate educational and other pathways into the profession, recognising professionals via certification and other means, and assisting with immigration assessment.

For 2020, this will include:

• Continue renewed promotion of CITPNZ/CTech - this year we've seen billboards at airports and elsewhere, online promotion, internal promotion and more for Chartered IT Professional NZ and Certified Technologist certifications. Next year we'll be stepping this up again, as we raise the profile and standing of these certifications in New Zealand. 

• Implementing an Asia-Pacific Regional IT Skills Recognition Strategy - we're working with our international partners in Asia Pacific and the Pacific Rim to increase cross-recognition of skills and professionals across the 21 APEC economies. This is now a formal APEC project and has a heap of momentum in recent times, with the move from planning to implementation this year and next.

• Working with the global community through the Seoul Accord - this is another that was pushed forward to next year, however we'll be hosting a panel to observe our degree accreditation process and hopefully advance full signatory status to the Seoul Accord. This will help ensure NZ tech-related degrees continue to be recognised as world leading.

• Continuing Immigration Qualifications Assessments - to help those who have the skills we need in New Zealand, but not a direct 1:1 computing degree match, gain skills recognition for immigration purposes.

Growing the Profession

Our profession is at the forefront of both enabling New Zealand companies to compete effectively on the world stage, and empowering New Zealanders to make the most of the digital world they live in.

ITP has a leading role in marketing and growing our profession to ensure the future needs of both our industry and our country are met. This includes a broad range of education, immigration and other initiatives designed to promote and grow our profession and develop professional practice.

For 2020, this will include: 

• Continue to develop 123Tech and TechHub - 123Tech and TechHub are our two core in-school initiatives to help develop future tech professionals. These are continuing for another year thanks to the awesome support of the Ministry of Education and our industry partners, and we'll be continuing to scale it as we move to a location-independent model.

• Review our Codes of Ethics and Professional Practice and other professional guidelines - we'll be kicking off a Working Group early next year looking at the professional documents that shape the conduct of professionals in New Zealand, with a particular focus on ensuring international consistency and relevance. 

Representing the Profession

As the professional body of the Digital and Information Technology profession, ITP has a leading role in independently representing, and advocating on behalf of, the Profession.

Collectively and with its community expertise, ITP represents, advises and advocates for the Profession.

For 2020, this will include:

• Helping form the Workforce Development Council for tech - which sets the standards for vocational education in our area. While we're disappointed that TEC doesn't appear to have listened much to our industry feedback on the structure of these, especially given they're meant to reflect what industries want, the new WDCs are expected to be up-and-running by the middle of next year.

• Working closely with Government on a range of other areas - as always, this includes everything where the profession is affected, including education and skills areas, procurement of IT contractors and consultants and much more.

Internal reviews

Lastly, we're kicking off two internal reviews to ensure our services and systems remain relevant and serve our members and the wider tech community well.

• Membership Barriers Review - this will look to identify and remove barriers to joining and maintaining membership of ITP, including reviewing the current membership structure, implementing monthly dues options, and reviewing and revamping the whole joining process. 

• Core Systems Review - this internal review will be exploring options and whether we should be migrating ITP's core systems to a more up-to-date platform. This will also look at all of the software we're using across the organisation, and whether there are better options to help us achieve our strategic and operational objectives.

So yes, another busy year in 2020, and lots of opportunities for members to get involved in helping us achieve our mission for the profession. We hope you'll choose to get more directly involved with your professional body! 

ITP office closed

Just a note that he ITP office is closed from today until Monday 6 January 2020.

But for now? As Fred Flintstone would say… Yabba Dabba Dooooo! Time for a break.

We're out! See you in 2020.