ADBS certified its firts candidates

The European consortium CERTIDoc, which now groups together three certifying organisations that evaluate qualification levels (ADBS in Paris, DGI in Germany and SEDIC in Spain) met in Paris on the 3rd of February 2006. Since launching its operational European system of certification in mid-June 2005, four information professionals have already been Euro-certified (2 at Manager level, 2 at Technician level). For the moment, only the ADBS has begun transmitting applications, training evaluators and convening juries. The SEDIC and DGI have started adopting a national system to conform to the rules adopted by the consortium with the intention of issuing Euro-certificates within the first semester.

The Belgian association ABD-BVD has also signed an agreement with the ADBS in order to assist Belgian information professionals in acquiring Euro-certification. Evaluators have been trained and accredited. An agreement is also planned with professional associations in Switzerland which have already set up a common commission for certification. These types of commissions are also being set up in Romania and Italy, while the INCITE in Portugal has expressed its interest in the Euro-certification process.

Parallel to setting up certifying authorities, several associations have undertaken steps to convince public powers to recognise a Euro-certificate. For example, in France these steps have been taken so that the Eurocertificate may be included in the national repertoire of professional certifications.

The European consortium CERTIDoc notes the success of its 2004 edition of the EuroGuide for Information Professionals. This reference tool, which is intended for all professionals as well as curriculum planners and recruiters, will soon be available online in 11 languages (6 versions are already online at www.certidoc.net). Let's not forget that candidates for Euro-certification in qualification level are evaluated on the basis of the EuroGuide and the evaluation guidelines established by the consortium. Also, a Euro-certificate issued by any certifying body authorised by the consortium is identical and therefore independent of any one organisation or one country.

The consortium plans to meet (physically or virtually) three times per year in order to maintain the coherence of its European system and to evolve according to the needs expressed by the profession.

February 2006

CERTIDoc, the European project for the certification of information professionals, has just moved on to a new stage.

On 18 November last, barely twelve months after being launched, the European consortium CERTIDoc, bringing together three major professional associations, ADBS (France), DGI (Germany), SEDIC (Spain), and two technical partners (Bureau Van Dijk and the Free University of Brussels), completed an essential phase of the project by adopting the Bye-laws of the European competencies certification mechanism. The competencies certification model has now been decided: certification will be awarded by certification bodies which must be approved by the consortium (in accordance with these Bye-laws), will cover four levels of qualification and will be available to all the sectors of information-documentation (archives, libraries, documentation, information management…) whatever the candidate's nationality. The conditions to be fulfilled to apply for certification are flexible and open, with the restriction that the candidate must have been in the profession for the past three years at least. The type of certification being set up will be essentially geared towards "professional experience" and the 2004 edition of the Euro Competencies Guide, currently being finalised, will be at the core of the candidate evaluation process. Specifically, for each area of competency, the candidate must be able to demonstrate practical implementation of knowledge acquired through academic tuition, further training or on-the-job experience.

It will soon be possible to consult these Bye-laws on-line on this site, in French and in English (and subsequently in Spanish and German).

The CERTIDoc consortium is currently working on a multi-lingual self-evaluation tool which will be accessible on-line. The French computer programme for competencies management I-Profil has been selected and will be the platform for this tool. A panel of professionals will be set up in a number of countries (including France) in 2004 to test the mechanism. The overall objective is to award the first European certificates at the end of 2004.

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