The European Commission has launched a service contract to develop a feasibility study for a pan-European foundational body of knowledge for ICT professionals and of a sustainable operating model for the promotion of ICT professionalism in Europe.

This new initiative is launched in the scope of the follow-up of the European Commission’s Communication on “e-Skills for the 21st Century” which presents an EU long-term e-skills agenda, of the “Digital Agenda for Europe” and the Communication “Towards a Job-rich Recovery” which include new proposals regarding e-skills. It is also a contribution to the “Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs” launched at the conference on “e-Skills and Education for Digital Jobs” on 4 March 2013 in Brussels.

The service contract is specifically aiming at implementing the recommendations of the report on “e-Skills and ICT professionalism: Fostering the ICT profession in Europe” which has been released to the Commission in May 2012. The main findings and recommendations of this report and the achievements of the CEN ICT Skills Workshop (European e-competence framework etc.) will constitute a strong basis for the work to be performed under this service contract. This activity will be complementary to a major communication and awareness raising campaign on “e-Skills for Jobs” planned in 2014.

The main target groups are ICT professionals (both in the ICT industry and ICT using industries). This service contract will need to establish synergy with the activities of relevant standardisation bodies at national, European and international level, especially the CEN ICT Skills Workshop of the European Standardisation Committee (CEN).