The move is aimed at bringing sanity to the industry that is progressing rapidly and posing a threat to sensitive areas of the economy and country.
“Given the advancement of technology, it is prudent to accredit practitioners in the industry; the digital industry is very sensitive and thus the need for qualified and accredited experts,” the Acting Director General of the ICT Commission (ICTC), Engineer Samson Mwela, told the ‘Daily News’ in an interview.
The commission is an institution under the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication charged with promoting ICT and on the other hand mandated to develop ICT profession in Tanzania through accreditation and competence.
“We are currently drafting a framework for registration and accreditation of professionals in the industry; this aims at recognising their expertise and respective categories as it is in other careers such as engineering,” he stated.
There will be three categories of accredited practitioners in the industry, he explained, noting that the highest grouping will be made of highly trained professional consultants. Eng Mwela said the commission is working with international organisations in drafting the framework to set standards which will enable accredited local ICT experts to be recognised in other countries globally.
“The commission has so far received applications from 800 professionals for accreditation, but the exercise cannot be conducted at present until the framework and legislation are in place,” Eng Mwela explained.
According to him, other countries in the East African region namely Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have institutions for accrediting ICT experts although they operate in different arrangement compared to that to be adopted by Tanzania.
“Accreditation is now being undertaken in many countries in the world including South Africa and Australia, ICT experts are responsible for creating computer software and handling sensitive information and hence they have to be certified,” he observed.
The principles of professional accreditation in the ICT industry, according to the expert, will feature high during the Annual ICT Professionals Conference to be held next week at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC) in Dar es Salaam.
“We expect that experts at the conference will give their views on the best way of implementing the accreditation exercise; once the framework is finalised, it will as well provide for professional upgrading to improve their skills,” he explained.
He admitted on the other hand that there are people working in the ICT industry, but lack qualifications and skills, noting that the envisaged arrangement will create an industry of only qualified specialists.
The conference next week will carry the theme; ‘Building Tanzania’s Digital Industrial Economy,’ and it is expected to attract participants from the government, private sector, academia and research communities from across the country and abroad.
“Apart from being a production line itself, the digital industry has a vital role in the industrial economy being championed by the Fifth Phase Government to attain middle-income economy by 2025; modern factories being set up are highly reliant on ICT,” he pointed.
There will be presentations from local and international ICT experts on issues such as trust and confidence in the digital industrial economy, challenges and opportunities in evolving technologies, digital agenda for Tanzania as well as the role of private sector in mobilising ICT for development.
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