2,000 sign up for SkillsTracker

Online service measuring job skills proves popular in its first year.

Less than a year after the Institute of IT Training (IITT) launched its SkillsTracker service, some 2,000 people have taken advantage of this free web-based service which provides a measure of what job skills an individual possesses, how good she is at those skills and also provides proof of these measures.

"At simplest, SkillsTracker is a certification scheme for individuals," said the IITT's Alan Bellinger. "However, it is not a separate certifications scheme - rather it is based on all the existing certification schemes."

Those using the SkillsTracker service - accessed via the IITT website - assess their abilities within as many as 13 sets of competencies, with an average of eight competencies per set. They also state the courses they have taken and the certificates (such as TAP or City & Guilds) that they have gained.

"The course and certificate information can be verified by the user's manager," explained Bellinger. "This then provides a validated record of what that individual should know and be able to do."

Not only does this produce a record which can be used to support job applications but, by continually updating this record, it produces an accurate continuing professional development (CPD) record.

Bellinger commented: "SkillsTracker produces a CPD record which is performance - not input - based. In other words, it measures a person's increase in skills rather than merely recording which courses s/he has been on in the past year."

Developed in association with InfoBasis, this online self-assessment programme provides users with a 'points score' for their skills. Comparing annual changes in these scores gives an idea of a person's CPD results.

Colin Steed, the IITT's chief executive, explained: "According to the IITT's research, people seem to perceive only a weak link between maintaining a CPD record and their actual development over a 12 month period. In reality, far too much of the CPD process is focused on inputs - courses attended, books read and so on - and there is not enough focus on what we achieve as a result of these inputs.

"We introduced SkillsTracker because we were concerned that people are not committed to keeping their CPD records up-to-date. With SkillsTracker, users can test themselves against their key competencies and, when they re-test themselves, they can see how their new results measure up against their old ones - and so discover how much they've developed.

"Faced with the prospect of being able to prove - via these tests - that your professional skills have expanded makes CPD a valuable experience, not a chore."

The SkillsTracker competencies cover classroom-based training and self study/e-learning. They range from administration skills to developer and delivery skills and also encompass consulting and management skills.

The SkillsTracker competency-based assessment programme is free to access and use. It:

• Clearly establishes best practice in terms of training competencies and skills.
• Enables the IITT to process new applications for membership on a more visible and open basis.
• Gives existing members a more effective and engaging CPD programme.
• Positions the IIT at the forefront of membership management programmes by employing a basis of assessment that is unique among professional bodies.

Within the IT training industry, the IITT is driving standards through its competency frameworks and by encouraging world-leading qualifications such as TAP and CeLP. The Institute works with other organisations and professional bodies - first, to ensure its standards are as widely accepted as possible, and secondly to recognise other qualifications and experience and accept these against defined competency frameworks as evidence towards its own professional membership.