Primary purpose of BCS
UK professional body for IT
◇ to promote the study and practice of computing and supports IT professionals, employers, students, and educators
BCS Royal Charter purpose
IT professionals should be well-trained, ethical, and professional.
Helping IT be a trusted profession.
2 ways in which BCS advances/ teach knowledge of computing
◇Accrediting courses – BCS checks that IT courses teach the right skills and knowledge.
◇ Special Interest Groups & events – BCS helps IT professionals share new ideas and learn from each other.
Continuing Professional Development (CDP)
Keep learning and develop skills during career.
Examples:
Courses or workshops
Reading books or articles
Conferences or seminars
Learning new programming languages
Joining BCS group
2 ways in which the BCS provides Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
IT NOW magazines to learn about new developments.
Members can revalidate their skills every five years e.g SFIAplus framework.
Purpose of Code of Conduct
guides professionals behave ethically and responsibly, protect the public, work competently, maintain trust in the profession.
Also called code of ethics.
BCS’s Code of Conduct is divided into FOUR sections. Name the FOUR sections
●The public interest
- Respect privacy, human rights, and avoid discrimination.
- Care about public safety, security, health, and environment.
EX: A programmer ensures user data is protected so that people are not harmed by data leaks.
●Professional competence and integrity
- Keep your skills up-to-date, and you do the work you are qualified to do.
EX: refuse to do web design as you are an IT support specialist.
●Duty to relevant authority
- Be responsible and ethical towards your employer or client.
EX: Tell your manager if a project will suceed or not.
●Duty to the profession
- Acting in a way that makes people trust IT professionals.
EX: supporting a colleagues. Mentoring a junior developer.
