Computing Technology Industry Association Establishes Middle East Workforce Development Advisory Council.

CAIRO, Egypt -- Leading organizations in the information technology (IT) industry across the Middle East are working together to address technology training issues in the region as part of a new initiative facilitated by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA).

The Middle East Workforce Development Advisory Council (MEWAC) recently held its first meeting in Cairo. For the first time, various IT training organizations from Egypt; representatives of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry; and officials from leading IT sector companies such as IBM Egypt, IT Egypt Corp., Microsoft, New Era, New Horizons, OMS, Raya Academy, Synergy PS, Thomson Prometric, and YAT met to identify challenges and opportunities for enhancing training programs in the Egyptian IT industry.

The goal is for the technology sector in Egypt to become competitive with the IT industries in other countries across the region. Among the challenges identified in the Egyptian IT training market are:

--Articulating the value of professional certification in combination with training and on-the-job experience.

--The cost of training.

--"Grey market" training and certification providers.

--Measuring the quality of training.

--IT training and its relationship to education

"I am happy to see so many active people in a meeting where the ultimate goal is to improve the quality of the Egyptian IT training market," said Rudolf Tegelaar, regional director, CompTIA Middle East. "All participants recognized the value and need for this effort. Customers and the training market in general will benefit from this as well."

The consensus among participants in the initial meeting of the MEWAC is that the Egyptian government will be a strong driver in promoting new training initiatives that create a skilled work force. The group also concluded that professional certifications, such as those offered by CompTIA, are an important measurement and validation of skills developed through education and training.

Council members will now turn their attention to developing definitions and standards for IT training institutes in areas such as quality of instructors; training facilities; customer service; and quality assurance.

As the leading trade association for the world's IT industry, CompTIA provide a unified voice, global advocacy and leadership to advance industry growth through standards, professional competence, education, and business solutions. CompTIA has developed specialized initiatives and programs dedicated to major areas within the IT industry, including convergent technologies, electronic commerce, public policy, services, software and workforce development.

CompTIA certification programs are the recognized industry standards for a broad range of IT skills. The association offers vendor-neutral certifications in personal computer service, networking, document imaging, Internet, server technologies, Linux, project management, technical training, security, integrated home networks, and radio frequency identification (RFID). Approximately 1,000,000 IT professionals around the world hold CompTIA certifications.

About CompTIA

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) represents the business interests of the information technology (IT) industry. For 24 years CompTIA has provided research, networking and partnering opportunities to its 20,000 member organizations in more than 100 countries worldwide. CompTIA initiatives extend to areas such as convergence technologies, electronic commerce, information security, IT services, public policy, skills development, and software. CompTIA helps organization maximize the benefits they receive from their investments in technology; and assists IT workers to obtain the skills they need for productive careers in technology. For more information, please visit: www.comptia.org.