CEN/TC 428 - Project Committee - Professions for Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

This document provides a reference of 42 knowledge units as required and applied in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professional work environment that can be understood across Europe. An intrinsic link with the EN 16234-1 (e-CF) is an essential characteristic of this document.
The document is created for application by:
—   educational institutions, learning programme and certification providers of all types including:
•   Vocational and Educational Training (VET);
•   Higher education (HE);
•   Continuous Professional Development (CPD);
—   ICT service, user and supply organisations;
—   ICT professionals, managers and human resource (HR) departments;
—   social partners (trade unions and employer associations), professional associations, accreditation, validation and assessment bodies;
—   market analysts and policy makers; and
—   other organisations and stakeholders in public and private sectors.
This document is provided as one fundamental building block of ICT Professionalism for Europe.
The prime objective of this document is to provide a significant contribution to the broad concept of ICT professionalism founded upon four building blocks, body of knowledge, e-CF competence, professional ethics and education and training. Complementary to the EN 16234-1 (e-CF) that provides an efficient and broadly accepted common European language about ICT professional competence, the European ICT Foundational Body of Knowledge (ICT BoK) makes an additional contribution to ICT professional knowledge, increasing transparency and maturity of the ICT Profession across Europe.
Specifically, the document provides a structured library of knowledge elements applicable to ICT professionals across a broad spectrum of disciplines. The knowledge elements are identified as either:
a)   common knowledge applicable to all ICT professionals regardless of speciality;
b)   base knowledge that provides a foundation and underpins each of a range of different disciplines/specialisms;
c)   specialised knowledge pertaining to in-depth, very specific expert knowledge.
Although providing and adding value to all stakeholders, knowledge defined by this document, provides a particularly useful perspective and entry point for educational institutions seeking to participate in ICT professional competence development. As a natural extension to EN 16234-1 (e-CF) dimension 4 knowledge examples, this document further facilitates the use of the shared European language for ICT Professional competence. By expanding the knowledge content of the EN 16234-1 (e-CF), it adds value to its application alongside further connected references.

This document specifies the knowledges, skills, responsibility and autonomy of ICT experts involved in the development of products and services (including digital contents) to increase the accessibility knowledge in different fields, for different competences and responsibilities.
This document:
—   considers accessibility as "base line" (accessibility has been also recognized in EN 16234-1:2019 as a Transversal aspect);
—   recognizes accessibility as the requirement in procurement for both public and private sectors;
—   provides an overview of useful CEN, ISO and ESCO publications in the field;
—   defines a set of knowledges, skills, responsibility and autonomy for different ICT areas to improve accessibility in the current professional roles and job positions (hardware, software, web);
—   refers to ESCO ICT profiles, that can be adapted for the three main areas: hardware, software, web;
—   refers to W3C activities for define knowledges, skills, responsibility and autonomy in web accessibility role profiles;
—   supports activities for educational providers and exam/certification institutes.
This document should help, for example, to:
—   avoid issues on the definition of third level profiles derived from European ICT Professional Role Profiles without missing accessibility requirements;
—   enable easy application of accessibility related EU-level standards and references from CEN, ISO and ESCO;
—   allow the market to adapt their current job profiles and/or training courses adding the accessibility skills.
This document supports the definition of knowledge and skills for each ICT professional role without creating new ICT role profiles which includes accessibility competences.

This document will provide an “European Professional Ethics Framework for the ICT Profession (EU ICT Ethics)” to support the vision of establishing a profession for the ICT workforce. It will thereby offer the possibility to coalesce other ethics focused initiatives around a common structure.
This ethics framework will be directly linked to EN 16234-1. It will incorporate the structural concept of EN 16234-1 and, in a comparable way, describe a blueprint of what is required and what competencies, skills and knowledge are needed to identify and address the ethical challenges that ICT professionals face in their work.
Therefore it will extend the ethics principles already described in the "Transversal Aspects of the e-Competence Framework" in such a way that concrete requirements and procedures can be defined and implemented in the respective context on the basis of the roles, methods and processes defined in the framework.
The Scope therefore is to crystalize ‘ICT Professional Ethics” into a manageable, structure “European Professional Ethics Framework for the ICT Profession” and to provide guidance on practical application provided by a methodology and application guide that will support the establishment of codes of ethics.

The aim of this document is to enable unbiased and consistent use of indicators and measurements to enable verification of an individual’s competence to the EN 16234-1 (e-CF) to facilitate its consistent application.
The document addresses the assessment of competence as articulated within the EN 16234-1 (e-CF), regardless of where, when and how the competence was attained or developed.
The aim is to provide guidance on the use of indicators and measurements to support the assessment and/or verification of an IT professional’s competence.
Guidance is confined to possible indicators and how they can be applied to achieve consistency and transparency for the verification of an e-CF competence at a specific level (1-5).
This document guides readers through objective assessment of e-CF competence to avoid possible influence from personal feelings, interpretations or prejudice.
Finally, this document aims to offer, at least, examples of indicators and metrics for each of the e-competences listed in EN 16234-1 (e-CF).

This document provides guidance and inspiration on how to design/redesign, develop, maintain, adjust, and compare ICT Professional curricula and learning programmes as scoped by EN 16234 1:2019 and related documents.
EN 16234 1:2019 (e-CF) is the starting guiding point for this document, for a shared European language for ICT professional development. Other framework sources can be used to apply the methodology outlined in this document.
This document is for application by educational institutions, learning programmes and certification providers of all types (public and private), providing ICT Professional education and training including:
•   Higher Education (HE);
•   Vocational Education and Training (VET);
•   Any other educational or training institution or provider in professional ICT, e.g. Continuous Professional Development (CPD).
This document is focused on guiding education providers on how to align curricula and learning programmes with the structure and principles of EN 16234 1 (e-CF) e-Competences and CWA 16458 1 ICT Professional Role Profiles. It applies to all forms of education, supporting educational providers who plan to use a shared European language on knowledge, skills, competences and roles, as ingredients for the successful provision of ICT Professional education and training.
The guidelines, provided by this document, include formal, non-formal and industry developed education and training through the provision of high-level, consistent recommendations and guidance for ICT curriculum or learning programme design by any education provider.
In this document, a distinction is made between a learning programme and a curriculum. The term “curriculum” is strongly associated with formal educational institutions and degrees, the term “learning programme” indicates a broader, more encompassing concept, also incorporating training and other learning programmes, not restricted to only “curricula”. As the proposed methodology in this document relates to both curricula and learning programmes, the term ‘learning programme’ is used throughout the text. If the term ‘curriculum’ is used, then that narrower meaning is explicitly applicable in that situation.

This document supports understanding, adoption and use of EN 17748-1 (ICT BoK) that provides a reference of 42 knowledge units as required and applied in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professional work environment that can be understood across Europe.
This document supports Information and Communication Technology (ICT) stakeholders dealing with ICT Professional knowledge, skills and competences from multiple perspectives, in particular:
- educational institutions, learning programmes and certification providers of all types including:
- Vocational and Educational Training (VET);
- Higher education (HE);
- Continuous Professional Development (CPD);
- ICT service, user and supply organizations;
- ICT professionals, managers and human resource (HR) departments;
- social partners (trade unions and employer associations), professional associations, accreditation, validation and assessment bodies;
- market analysts and policy makers;
- and other organizations and stakeholders in public and private sectors across Europe
to adopt, apply and use the Foundational Body of Knowledge in their environment as one fundamental building block of ICT Professionalism for Europe.
See Figure 1 for illustration of document scope and target groups.
A close connection with EN 16234-1 (e-CF) and CWA 16458 (ICT Profiles) are a design element of EN 17748-1 (ICT BoK). This application support document details how to approach the complementary application of each structure by varied stakeholders of the European ICT Professionalism eco-system. It supports the use of a shared neutral reference for ICT professional development. This interconnected application is illustrated in Figure 2. Nevertheless, the ICT BoK can also be used as a stand-alone tool.
This document provides:
- An ICT BoK EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW of the scope, target groups, underlying principles and main characteristics is provided in Clause 4.
- The ICT BoK USER GUIDE in Clause 5: guidance on how to apply the Foundational Body of Knowledge for the ICT Profession from multiple ICT stakeholder perspectives. It addresses the need to further enhance the flexibility and applicability of the competences described within the e-CF as it offers further delineation and articulation of the knowledge components of competences. EN 17748-1 (ICT BoK) is intended for guidance and is designed to provide a common shared reference tool which can be implemented, adapted and used in accordance with ICT stakeholder requirements. The following implementation guidance is structured by target groups and complemented by two ICT BoK application cases. During the course of the EN 17748-1 (ICT BoK) development, real world experience was a necessary contribution to ensuring future application of the structure. Dissemination of the ICT BoK development progress enabled testing of the structure as it developed. One outcome of this open approach was that some examples of practical application, despite that at the time, not published, could be tested and made available as two application cases.
- The ICT BoK METHODOLOGY DOCUMENTATION in Clause 6: here the ICT BoK creation process is explained as well as important aspects of its development. This section supports the methodology grounding for the development, implementation and future maintenance of the ICT BoK.
- A series of ANNEXES, allowing user-targeted ICT BoK navigation according to particular viewpoints.

This document supports the methodology grounding for the development, implementation and maintenance of EN 16234 (all parts) e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European Framework for ICT Professionals in all sectors which provides a common reference of 41 ICT professional competences as required and applied at the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professional work environment, using a common language for competences, skills, knowledge and proficiency levels that can be understood across Europe.
This document supports methodological understanding of the e-CF by all parties interested and supports Information and Communication Technology (ICT) stakeholders dealing with ICT Professional competences from multiple perspectives, in particular:
- ICT service, demand and supply organisations;
- ICT professionals, managers and human resource (HR) departments;
- educational institutions, learning program and certification providers of all types including Vocational and Educational Training (VET), Higher Education (HE) and Continuous Professional Development (CPD);
- social partners (trade unions and employer associations);
- professional associations, accreditation, validation and assessment bodies;
- market analysts and policy makers;
- other organisations and stakeholders in public and private sectors across Europe; and
it seeks to particularly satisfy the needs of stakeholders from competence frameworks construction and research environment.

This document provides a series of practical case studies supporting understanding, adoption and use of EN 16234 (all parts) e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European Framework for ICT Professionals in all sectors which provides a common reference of 41 ICT professional competences as required and applied at the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professional work environment, using a common language for competences, skills, knowledge and proficiency levels that can be understood across Europe.
This document supports Information and Communication Technology (ICT) stakeholders dealing with ICT Professional competences from multiple perspectives, in particular:
-   ICT service, demand and supply organisations;
-   ICT professionals, managers and human resource (HR) departments;
-   educational institutions, learning program and certification providers of all types including Vocational and Educational Training (VET), Higher Education (HE) and Continuous Professional Development (CPD);
-   social partners (trade unions and employer associations);
-   professional associations, accreditation, validation and assessment bodies;
-   market analysts and policy makers;
-   other organizations and stakeholders in public and private sectors across Europe,
to adopt, apply and use the framework in their environment.

This document supports understanding, adoption and use of EN 16234 (all parts) e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European Framework for ICT Professionals in all sectors which provides a common reference of 41 ICT professional competences as required and applied in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professional work environment, using a common language for competences, skills, knowledge and proficiency levels that can be understood across Europe.
This document supports Information and Communication Technology (ICT) stakeholders dealing with ICT professional competences from multiple perspectives, in particular:
- ICT service, demand and supply organisations;
- ICT professionals, managers and human resource (HR) departments;
- educational institutions, learning program and certification providers of all types including Vocational and Educational Training (VET), Higher Education (HE) and Continuous Professional Development (CPD);
- social partners (trade unions and employer associations);
- professional associations, accreditation, validation and assessment bodies;
- market analysts and policy makers;
- other organisations and stakeholders in public and private sectors across Europe;
to adopt, apply and use the framework in their environment.

This document provides a reference of 41 competences as required and applied at the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professional work environment, using a common language for competences, skills and proficiency levels that can be understood across Europe.
This document was created for application by:
-   ICT service, user and supply companies,
-   ICT professionals, managers and human resource (HR) departments,
-   vocational education institutions and training bodies including higher education,
-   social partners (trade unions and employer associations), professional associations, accreditation, validation and assessment bodies,
-   market analysts and policy makers,
and other organizations and stakeholders in public and private sectors.

This Technical Report describes the methodology grounding for the development of the e-Competence Framework published as EN 16234-1. It supports methodological understanding of the e-CF by all parties interested; and it seeks to particularly satisfy the needs of stakeholders from competence frameworks construction and research environment.

This Technical Report supports understanding, adoption and use of EN 16234-1. It supports Information and Communication Technology (ICT) stakeholders, in particular:
—   ICT service, demand and supply companies;
—   ICT professionals, managers and human resource (HR) departments;
—   vocational education institutions and training bodies including higher education;
—   social partners (trade unions and employer associations);
—   professional associations, accreditation, validation and assessment bodies;
—   market analysts and policy makers; and
—   other organizations and stakeholders in public and private sectors across Europe,
to adopt, apply and use the framework in their environment.

This European Standard provides a reference of 40 competences as required and applied at the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) business related workplace, using a common language for competences, skills and proficiency levels that can be understood across Europe. As the first sector-specific implementation of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), this European Standard aligns its proficiency levels to the EQF learning levels.
This European Standard was created for application by:
-   ICT service, user and supply organizations,
-   ICT professionals, managers and human resource (HR) departments,
-   vocational education institutions and training bodies including higher education,
-   social partners (trade unions and employer association), professional associations, accreditation, validation and assessment bodies,
-   market analysts and policy makers,
and other organizations and stakeholders in public and private sectors.