Tolu Aiyegbusi
Abuja – The President of Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN), Prof. Charles Uwadia, has charged Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals to become certified before practising.
Uwadia gave this charge in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said that ICT certification separated quack ICT practitioners from the experts.
“ We currently have just over 5,000 certified IT registered members in our database from all over the country and we have more than the registered number who are practicing without any certification whatsoever.
“As a government establishment saddled with the supervision of the computing profession in Nigeria, we have non-professional and professional certificate examinations that come up twice in a year in accredited centres.
“We also have various refresher training that take place in various states across the country.
“By becoming a registered CPN member, you will become certified to practice, and this is what separates the quacks from the professionals,’’ he said.
Uwadia also urged employers and managers of labour to request evidence of registration with CPN from their IT staff before employment.
He said that if personnel managers would hire only certified IT experts, it would improve the number of IT members certified by the council.
“We are working hand in hand with government and private establishments to ensure that only certified IT experts are employed and awarded IT-inclined contracts.
“We must commend government establishments because you cannot be awarded government contracts if you are not registered with CPN,’’ Uwadia said.
The council president said that if only certified IT experts were hired in companies and organisations, it would reduce the number of quacks and non-professionals practising the profession.
He said that the council would be going into various partnerships in order to make its mandate achievable.
(NAN)
