scope:

ICT Certification in Action has been one of a series of ICT skills projects conducted be CEN, the European standards body for ICT, under its CEN Workshop Agreement process. It follows the earlier research project HARMONISE led by CEPIS, and the CEN project ICT Certification in Europe which produced CWA 16052 in 2009. The main aim of this follow-on project has been to support implementation of that CWA. The project ran from May 2010 to July 2011, including a two month public consultation period. It covers both vendor and independent qualifications for ICT professionals. 11 million such certifications have been issued by over 100 certification providers covering 1300 types of certification. This situation of many overlapping qualifications has been described as a -certification jungle, with poor information, lack of clarity, confusing to candidates and employers, to the detriment of the labour market. It has also been described as a parallel universe disconnected from national education systems. A third view sees certifications as a part of the vital ecosystem supporting the associated ICT product and labour markets. But these views are now seen as outdated, as there are many examples of successful convergence. The earlier project developed a new view of the market structure for ICT certification, embracing all participants. This new understanding sees education, training, certification, and experience as mutually supporting components of lifelong learning and professionalism. CWA 16052 proposed measures to encourage such convergence and to support operation of the certification market. In particular, certification should be seen as a vital part of education and lifelong learning. This follow-on ICT Certification in Action project aimed to: - Deploy its proven methodology to maintain and extend the series of country maps showing the main certification stakeholders in each market in Europe - Provide updated metrics on the current state of play of the main ce ...