Leading ICT standards meeting to be hosted in Malta

• August 12, 2019
• admin

Article by Carm Cachia Chief administrator of the eSkills Malta Foundation published on the Sunday Times of Malta on 11.08.2019

Establishing standards to guide the process of maturing IT profession will provide enormous benefits to IT professionals and practitioners in various business and government sectors. These standards must take into consideration wider implications related to the EU single market strategy and policy, industry requirements, innovation trends, and last but not least, social needs.

CEN is the recognised European standards committee, and the CEN/TC 428 is the technical committee responsible for the standardisation of a common language of professional digital and IT competences, skills and knowledge applied in all domains.

In 2018, the CEN/TC 428 was also given an added remit of establishing all aspects of standardisation related to maturing the IT profession in all public and private sectors. The committee meets three or four times a year in an EU member state. The eSkills Malta Foundation was authorised by Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority, the national standards body, to represent the country at this important ICT standards committee.

On October 23, the Foundation will welcome over 20 high-caliber ICT professionals from various EU member states to hold their next CEN/TC428 plenary meeting in Malta. The Foundation is looking forward to the meeting. Events like this remind us of the responsibility we must all recognise in the midst of the fastdeveloping ICT industry.

In the modern world, technology is developing so fast that at times it is not clear whether we are moving in the right direction. We see the world of the IT professional as an exciting one, but I am sure that it is also very challenging to keep up with. These challenges bring about a certain apprehension as to whether the transversal and underlying foundations on professional and industry practices are being given enough importance.

To ensure a net positive effect on the ICT profession, and in order to help organisations to grow and thrive in a sustainable manner, we need to embrace digital transformation. Resisting or shelving it will render ICT professionals less effective, not to mention that they will be working against the strong wave of the corporate culture of development and change.

SMEs and bigger corporates will need to go through a transformation in order to take full advantage of technological advancements, including but not limited to skills mapping, competences, and further development of professional frameworks.

Today’s ICT professionals need to be well informed, and in this respect, the Foundation is organising an IT Professionalism Conference on October 24, contribute towards this aim. Leading local and European speakers working in the IT industry and skills development will present a number of interesting subjects during the conference.

ICT professionals, CIOs, digital leaders and practitioners are highly encouraged to book the date and leave their busy world for a day to engage and discuss a number of topical subjects during this IT professionalism conference.