“e - Skills Certification in Europe”

1. EUROPEAN e-SKILLS CONFERENCE 2004 20 - 21 September 2004, Thessalonica, Greece “e-Skills Certification in Europe” Dudley Dolan CEPIS and Trinity College Dublin European e-Skills Conference 2004

2. CEPIS • Council of European Professional Informatics Societies • 36 Member Societies in 32 Countries • Representing some 200,000 ICT Professionals European e-Skills Conference 2004

3. Trinity College • City Centre The Campanile European e-Skills Conference 2004

4. Study “e-Skills Certification in Europe” Tender: CEDEFOP No: RPB/BS/eSkills/01/04 By Council of European Professional Informatics Societies (CEPIS) email: cepis@vde.com web: http://www.cepis.org European e-Skills Conference 2004

5. Questionnaire • Questionnaire widely distributed • Some 35 completed questionnaires to-date • Preliminary Analysis • Final Report 30th November 2004 European e-Skills Conference 2004

6. Preliminary Analysis Position in organisation Director/ Managing Director/ Managing Board 7 General Manager/ Secretary 4 Project Management 2 Chairman 2 Professor 2 Unit Management/Head of Department 5 Consultant/ Strategist 5 Other 8 Total 35 European e-Skills Conference 2004

7. Preliminary Analysis • There are a multitude e-Skills Certification Schemes (77%) • Europe needs fewer Certification schemes (69%) • On a European level, in short-term compatible and recognised e-skills certificates are strongly needed (77%) European e-Skills Conference 2004

8. Preliminary Analysis • Transparency, portability and compatibility of e-skills certificates can only be achieved by co-operation of stakeholders on basis of public-private partnerships.(71%) • The current initiatives and current debate are still far away from a European reference framework of promoting e-skills training, recognition and transparency. (63%) European e-Skills Conference 2004

9. Preliminary Analysis • The current marketplace is characterised by a focus on vendor certification and industry-accredited courses. (74%) • There is an obvious gap betweenaccepted e-skills certification schemes and the current market need (51%) European e-Skills Conference 2004

10. Preliminary Analysis • “An EU standard is needed: this must be vendor-independent and open to the participation of existing entities in the provision of training and in supporting the certification process” • “Education and Trainingneeds of end-users and practitioners are very different from each other in nature and in scale” European e-Skills Conference 2004

11. Preliminary Analysis • Which problemsmainly hamper the transparency and comparability of certificates/diploma for ICT practitioners/ end-users on a European level? • Lack of Standards • Lack of Definitions European e-Skills Conference 2004

12. The Way Forward • Quality Standards Required • European Approach Required • Multi Stakeholder Partnerships • Frameworks Required • “A unified end user certificate should be encouraged” European e-Skills Conference 2004

13. The Way Forward • Role of eSCC (eSkills Certifications Consortium) • European Role • CEN/ISSS Role • Harmonisation • Quality Standards European e-Skills Conference 2004

14. European e-Skills Conference 2004