 
          AUGUST 2013
        
        
          H
        
        
          business elite canada
        
        
          
            59
          
        
        
          ence organized by Kelly and
        
        
          the Computer Science depart-
        
        
          ment at The University of To-
        
        
          ronto. The conference gener-
        
        
          ated some revenue, and Kelly
        
        
          decided to use that money to
        
        
          form a professional associa-
        
        
          tion for IT workers to get to-
        
        
          gether and share their experi-
        
        
          ences.
        
        
          CIPS grew over the years with
        
        
          sections forming all over the
        
        
          country from Victoria, British
        
        
          Columbia to St. John’s, New-
        
        
          foundland. Today, CIPS is a
        
        
          federation of Provincial Soci-
        
        
          eties.
        
        
          Brenda Byers, I.S.P., ITCP, the
        
        
          national board chair of CIPS,
        
        
          says that developing one’s
        
        
          leadership skills are one of
        
        
          the many benefits to becom-
        
        
          ing a part of the association.
        
        
          Having to keep up with the
        
        
          constant changes in the IT
        
        
          industry can often times be
        
        
          problematic for IT workers
        
        
          who have been in the indus-
        
        
          try for some time. CIPS, how-
        
        
          ever, offers a solution to such
        
        
          changes.
        
        
          Mary Jean Kucerak, the chief
        
        
          operating officer at CIPS says,
        
        
          “Our certified members are
        
        
          required to re-certify every
        
        
          three years indicating that
        
        
          they have maintained a cer-
        
        
          tain level of educational cred-
        
        
          its, and that they are staying
        
        
          current.”
        
        
          She adds, “CIPS looks at pro-
        
        
          viding educational programs,
        
        
          bringing in speakers that can
        
        
          talk to our members about
        
        
          new trends in the industry.
        
        
          We recognize ongoing profes-
        
        
          sional development as being
        
        
          fundamental for individuals
        
        
          to have a successful career in
        
        
          IT.”
        
        
          Beedies Business Technology Management Certificate awarded first national accreditation