Advertorial: CompTIA TechCareer Compass

The CompTIA TechCareer Compass (TCC) is the leading ICT career guidance portal, housing the Information & Communication Technology (ICT) skill standards data as identified by the information technology industry.

TechCareer Compass offers IT professionals, employers, educators, advisors and curriculum developers a place to find free information about the IT workforce and certification programs. It also provides potential ICT professionals the tools to define their career goals and find out which certification(s) they need to get there (http://tcc.comptia.org/).

The data on the website was created by a committee comprised of leading industry players including Microsoft, IBM, Cisco and CompuCom; academia and government representatives, and it has been validated by thousands of front-line ICT workers. TCC is a portal to a variety of online ICT career development resources - including job banks, assessments, resume and interviewing tools, other ICT specific sites and educational conferences. With over 1000 links that are continuously updated, the site is one of the most important ICT career resources available.

With such a vast amount of information available on TCC, it's best to break down what this means for each section:

For employers

The TCC provides an outline of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) job roles so employers can identify the appropriate skills a candidate needs to be successful in a specific technology job. Currently, the TCC has 35 main job titles and 101 uniform, fully defined job roles. Each job title is broken down into entry, intermediate and senior levels as appropriate. Employers can use this information to write job descriptions or manage their existing technical staff. They also have the flexibility to locate information under the job titles their company prefers through the linking of alternate job titles to main job titles. Hiring professionals can license this data to import into their existing human capital management system to manage their staff using the industry developed skill standards.

As an employer you can:

• Use the TCC to write job descriptions
• Map your ICT employees' career paths
• Locate appropriate certifications that map to your employees needs
• Find training providers
• Link to additional career resources

For potential ICT professionals

More than 750 technical ICT certifications have been mapped to the skills required for each job role. They include both high and low stake certifications, while certifications have also been reverse mapped so individuals can select a certification and see what jobs map to it. Also available is a Skill Gap Assessment tool that has been added to the TCC, allowing users to rate their current skill set to those required by a specific job defined on TCC. Using the results from this tool allows individuals to identify their skills which meet or exceed minimum requirements and those skills that would require further study. With this information individuals can plan their training and certification path.

Career Advisors

Career advisors working with learners eager to get into IT can use TCC to assess students' interests and strengths, helping them to set realistic goals. The site can show students which certifications are appropriate for their career path and provides access to quality courseware and training facilities. TCC also provides learners with links to educational resources such as IT Dictionaries.

About CompTIA

CompTIA is the voice of the world's information technology (IT) industry. Its members are the companies at the forefront of innovation; and the professionals responsible for maximizing the benefits organizations receive from their investments in technology. CompTIA is dedicated to advancing industry growth through its educational programs, market research, networking events, professional certifications, and public policy advocacy. For more information, visit www.comptia.co.za.