[Linux-aus] Interview with Mark Lloyd from ACS on compulsory accreditation

[Bret Busby]

On Fri, 29 Sep 2006, Janet Hawtin wrote:

> 
> I went to a meeting in SA yesterday about a proposed national Natioal
> Not for Profit ICT Coalition. Where ACS and CISA were proposing to
> have a system whereby
> ACS or a central group provided Accreditation to IT folk who want to
> access the not for profit sector to provide IT services.
>
> The model was proposed to be a way to provide trusted IT services.
> It was proposed that this could be expanded to cover financial services etc.
>
> The model is proposed to have a group which provides accreditation
> and a second group to broker access to the ngo sector.
>
> ACS looked to be a player for the first group and the interview and this
> http://www.acs.org.au/news/110806.htm
> lead me to think that this is an overall goal of ACS for IT.
>
> CISA look to be aiming for the broker role at least for SA and NGO sector.
>
> The models of similar structures included:
> http://www.icthub.org.uk
> http://www.nten.org
> http://compumentor.org
> http://techsoup.org
> http://sangonet.org.za
> http://www.npower.org/about/index.htm
>
> Which uniformly are systems whereby there is a central control over
> who is trusted
> and there is only very little, and commonly innacurate information
> available through these portals on FOSS technologies and solutions
> which offer very real synergies with the not for profit sector.
>
> Given that my husband who has a degree was refused membership to ACS
> because they didnt like the stripe of his degree I have concerns that
> the choices made by ACS as a broker of IT trusted providers will
> besimilary partisan.
>
> Janet
>

I think that the ACS has some good points, and could be useful, as the 
ACS supposedly, regulates its membership, in terms of standards, 
including ethics, and, provides certification, and, ongoing training, 
to its members.

However, Anne was contacted at work, by someone from the ACS, to solicit 
membership of the ACS, so I looked into it for her (MACS can be a useful 
status, in obtaining work, both employment as an individual, and, where 
a contractor has workers who are MACS, or SMACS, that could be useful).

I found that membership of the ACS costs $320 per year, with an extra 
$110 joining fee. Those fees are the pesent fees.

I also found that Anne's PostGraduate Diploma in Computer Science, from 
Curtin University, is not recognised by the ACS. The PostGrad Dip 
CompSc is the equivalent of an honours degree. For the ACS to accredit 
pass degrees, but not the PostGrad Dip, shows a lack of professional 
maturity on the part of the ACS, in my opinion.

The information in the last two paragraphs, was obtained from the ACS 
web site, in the last couple of days.

I also looked at the IEEE Computer Society (www.computer.org), for 
comparison, as both Anne and I have in the past been members. Membership 
costs 110USD per year, and, subscription to the Digital Library, costs 
119USD per year, for professional membership; a total of 229USD per 
year, or 305AUD, using an exchange rate of 0.75USD per AUD.

I think that the IEEE Computer Society membership would be more 
beneficial, and, better value for money, than ACS membership.

Perhaps, your husband could investigate joing the IEEE Computer Society, 
Janet.

I note that I have previously mentioned the SLPWA, in relation to 
another thread on this list. Perhaps, Linux Australia could investigate 
the possible creation of a similar organisation at the federal/national 
level.

One thing that concerns me about the ACS proposal, as described, is the 
monopoly nature of it. Ther are a number of problems with monopolies 
(quite apart from the spirit of monopolies, being contrary to free trade 
and competition). I remember what was said about the formation of the 
National Union of Students in Astralia, which later became the AUS (or 
the other way around), which was basically, that it was hatched out of 
the office of the then federal minister of Education, John Dawkins, and 
was thus controlled by the federal government, especially by the ALP, 
was was solely a partisan institution, pro-ALP. This may have been why 
there was no apparent opposition to the imposition of the 
"Administration Fee"  for tertiary education in Australia, that started 
at $100 per year, and,  evolved (by the ALP) into what became HECS, and 
is now known as HELP (?), which leaves graduates with massive debts 
(although, not as bad as the NZ post-tertiary debts). It is possible 
(and, O believe, highly likely), that the objective of the creation of 
that organisation, was to prevent opposition to the imposition of HECS.