BCS The Chartered Institute for IT (UK) - more than just a free pen!

Let me take you back to Feb 2020, pre Covid. It was a normal office day at nationalgrid Warwick, lots of people on the floorplate, usual buzz of discussions and people walking up and down with a coffee and getting on with all things IT. 

I’d read some weeks earlier that in the business lounge area on this day there would be a stand from the British Computer Society (bcs), where you could find out more about our corporate membership and benefits with this industry body. When I joined the company back in 2016 I had seen bcs come in but it was one of those days that I had been back to back with other things, so missed the chance to connect, hence this time was keen to explore what this was all about.

Sandie Gill, a close colleague heading Service Transition was like me also interested, so we agreed to check out the stand and speak with the reps from the bcs. Often with things of this nature its very easy to get distracted by the opportunity to grab a free pen, keyring or gift and miss the opportunity to actually understand what is actually on offer. So whilst I may have grabbed a pen, I was determined like Sandie to properly ask questions and take notes. And I am so glad we did.

Bcs offer a huge range of resources and activities to help both new and existing people in the field of technology the opportunity to learn and develop their skills and also grow their understanding of emerging trends or services in this ever fast paced environment. Once chatting to the reps at the stand it was clear they were really keen to help nationalgrid maximise the membership and took time to help Sandie and I see the options relevant to our particular roles and interests. As part of this discussion and mini fact find it became clear the ‘Chartered IT Professional’ certification programme could be of real interest. This, like other accreditation's would look to assess our experience and capability, and if successful would allow us to be recognised against this industry standard. Sandie and I walked back from the lounge very buoyant with this fresh knowledge and with a personal target & challenge set. However a month later of course the world changed, due to Covid.

Fast forward to towards Xmas last year and following some enquiries Sandie and I were able to dust down our individual applications and set about updating them in detail ahead of submitting. This took some time as this initial step whilst recognises your length of time in the industry does still require evidence of achievements and knowledge. With these submitted we awaited news.

In Feb bcs got back in touch to confirm both of us had been successful in our submissions and that the next step would be for us to each attend an interview with senior members of the society. This session would require us to prepare and present a 10 minute presentation, highlighting activities and completed achievements demonstrating competence to the bcs standards and capabilities.

My interview day soon arrived and within the first few minutes I seriously thought I had blew it before I had even started presenting slide 1. The application required for me to connect to the virtual interview was needed to be accessed via a personal device and despite initial efforts the computer said no! However, I was extremely grateful for the two bcs assessors allowing me time to get everything corrected and connected. The 1 hour session flew by, but what I was really taken back by was the positive way bcs wanted to really know who I was and what my role in nationalgrid IT was all about.

Pleased to say a few weeks later both Sandie and I received news that we had been successful in gaining Chartered IT professional accreditation, and whilst we are of course delighted with our outcomes we equally wanted to ensure we highlight this really rich and positive resource group.

So can we encourage you to take a couple of learnings away from our journey

1. If you ever get the opportunity to go to a stand/expo or something where an organisation is making themselves available, don’t just grab the freebies and walk away, this misses the chance of someone that could really help you

2. Check out bcs if you are in the UK, its a great place to obtain insight, career development support and training materials for people in the IT industry

If anyone would like more insight please get in touch direct, I would be delighted to help others gain from the opportunities BCS provide.