Chairmans Newsletter

November 2005

Dear Colleague,

I am pleased to report that we start this new BCS year with a number of new committee members; as a very ambitious branch we always appear to be capable of dreaming up more ideas than we have people to do the extensive, behind the scenes activities, that tend to be associated with these events. However, as the saying goes, many hands make light work and we now have more hands than we have had for a long time. Nevertheless new volunteers are always welcome to help in the design and delivery of a program to both support and entertain the branch membership. If any one would like to be a part of this dynamic team please do feel free to contact myself or any of the branch committee members. The Branch committee member’s details are on the branch website.

A post that had been vacant was that of Young Persons Group representative (YPG). Max Davis has now taken up this post and is actively working towards establishing a YPG within the South Wales branch so if you are an eligible young person, for example a student member, then please do go ahead and contact Max today.

A few years ago now the decision was taken to move fully to electronic based communication, which in the main has proven very successful. However, at times people change their email addresses and we lose contact with them. If for any reason you are one of these members who we are not reaching, you can correct your address either online (you need to register if you have not done so already) or by notifying HQ by letter or email (ensure you include your membership number). If you have not done so, you may find it convenient to obtain a BCS forwarding address.

The programme page on our branch website outlines a number of events we have planned for the next few months. In case of any changes please check the emails we send to you or keep an eye on this site to confirm the date and venue of the meetings. In particular, I would very much like to hear from you on how we can best ensure the branch meets the needs of its members. As an added incentive to encourage members to arrive early and to use the opportunity to network we provide an excellent buffet prior to the majority of our events.

Last year we had a number of very successful events and our plans for next year should once again equal or possibly even exceed these successes. The Christmas lecture last year saw not only members but many of their families attending and the same invitation has been extended to this year’s event, again at Cardiff Techniquest Centre.

We have also been looking at ways to improve the local Welsh feel to the South Wales branch and have teamed up with North Wales (Chester & North Wales Branch Website) to develop a site focussing on Welsh interests in the field of Technology. Daniel Cunliffe is the webmaster for this site.

The Branch membership clearly demonstrates not only the high calibre of IT practitioners in South Wales, but also a growing enthusiasm and commitment of these IT professionals to demonstrate their allegiance to professional standards and continued professional development.

Over the last year, the South Wales Branch Committee has continued to meet every month to maintain the local section's mission, which is broadly the same as our parent body, the British Computer Society in the UK. Locally this means raising awareness of the benefits realised by establishing and maintaining the highest professional standards in information technology and to generally promote and raise the professional standing of IT in the UK. This is done mainly through encouraging continued professional development via the creation of what the committee consider an interesting and worthwhile annual calendar of events. Wherever possible, we shall always look to promote the industry and comment where appropriate on key issues. We shall also look to educate the general public on a number of key societal matters where IT is involved and generally lead by example, encouraging the next generation of IT professionals to commit to the BCS professional standards and help make this profession one to be proud of.

Once again, may I remind you that we now publish the minutes of the committee meetings on the branch site with the aim of providing further opportunities for the members to interact with the committee.

Within this bulletin I often bring to your attention some of the recent significant events published by the BCS and once again I feel there are some very noteworthy items that you may be interested in following up.

A significant increase in the number of female members of the British Computer Society (BCS) has been announced in the Society's latest membership recruitment figures. Statistics show that the number of female members is continually growing year on year, narrowing the gender imbalance between female IT professionals and their male counterparts.

Historically, the total number of female BCS members has accounted for around 12 percent of the total membership figure; however recent drives and campaigns to encourage female membership uptake have resulted in this figure rising to an encouraging 22 percent for members who joined after August 2005.

The figures come on the back of the recent news that total BCS membership had broken the 50,000 mark for the first time in almost 50 years since the Society's foundation. The latest branch data files indicates that the branch has 274 new members joining in 2005, mirroring the BCS trend, however, the percentage of new Chartered members amongst those joining, appears to be quite low. The number of organisations affiliated to the branch, are almost exclusively academic institutions, with one exception. Clearly the BCS has some work to do in attracting corporate membership.

Far from the average day in the office, BCS staff excelled in supporting this year's Children in Need by attending work in fancy dress and holding various events throughout the day raising £625 for the cause.

A programme to fast track fundamental changes for the IT profession has been revealed by the British Computer Society (BCS) following the inaugural meeting of a newly formed joint BCS, government and IT industry steering group.

This new Professionalism in IT Programme aims to improve the capability of organisations to exploit the benefits of IT more effectively and consistently and push the IT profession towards a clearer business focus linked to strong management, leadership and business competencies. The programme will also recognise the need for a vibrant profession that meets the needs of its key stakeholder communities, including IT employers, IT users and customers and government.

The role of the Board will be to shape the vision and to lead the creation of the new IT profession. At its first meeting it approved a six month work plan to define both the scope of the new profession and the key ingredients of professionalism as it relates to IT activity.

The BCS is also exploring the option of introducing a chartered qualification structure with a standard chartered IT accreditation available right across the IT profession just as the Chartered Engineer title covers the engineering field. The outputs from the first stage of the programme will be presented at a conference in May 2006 with a development plan to establish the new IT profession.

I hope these highlights convey the now very proactive nature of your professional body in caring for your needs as an IT professional. I look forward to my continued tenure as chairman and hope that the membership and relevance of the society in South Wales continues to grow.

Finally, may I thank all the committee members for their voluntary support in delivering these services to the South Wales Branch.

Paul Bulmer Bsc (Hons) CEng MBA MBCS CITP MIMMM
Chairman BCS South Wales Branch