GCE Software Systems Development
ICT is popular with pupils and the new qualification will open doors in a growing economic sector.
From this September local Sixth formers have the opportunity to study for a new qualification designed to help gain knowledge and experience in software and systems development and may even spark interest in following a career in the growing software and technology industry.
GCE Software Systems Development has been developed by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA). CCEA Chief Executive, Richard Hanna, explains how the new course was designed and the benefits it will bring for our pupils and the local economy.
CCEA keeps its portfolio of qualifications under review, seeking to ensure courses are rewarding and offer a wide choice and flexibility. This is particularly important in the area of applied courses.
Courses offering qualifications should be challenging, engaging, relevant and recognise achievement in the development of knowledge, skills and understanding that meet the needs of individuals as they develop as contributors to our society and our economy.
In reviewing qualifications, we have consulted with a range of stakeholders including the Department for Employment and Learning, Department of Enterprise and Investment, employers, employers’ representatives such as the CBI, higher education, post-primary schools, sector skills bodies, subject associations, teacher training groups and universities.
During that process a number of areas were identified as opportunities for development and none more so than for a qualification to develop the skills related to our growing IT industry.
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is a popular choice for students in Northern Ireland. It offers a range of opportunities to develop knowledge and skills to deal with day to day use of technology with confidence. However, opportunities to study the design of IT systems and develop software were limited. We sought to address this by developing a qualification that offered opportunities to design systems and develop software.
Identifying the need was just the beginning. During the design of the GCE in Software Systems Development, CCEA worked closely with Invest NI to establish links with business and to ensure that our early ideas on the new course aligned with skills requirements and Northern Ireland Executive policy.
In particular, we ensured that the new qualification was mapped to Invest NI’s priorities for the development and promotion of software development and programming skills.
We established a panel of employers to review the new qualification to ensure that it met the needs of learners and employers, with content that is up to date and relevant.
CCEA is confident that we now have a qualification that provides learners with the subject knowledge, understanding and skills that will give insights into the field and perhaps generate interest in pursuing this to further study and potentially a career in the industry.
For example, pupils taking this new course will gain practical experience of designing and testing applications. They will learn how to develop and present software solutions to solve specific problems.
One local company integral to helping us to design this new qualification is Allstate Northern Ireland. Dwyer Gorman of Allstate says: “Future non-ICT graduates applying to Allstate NI would be much more attractive to the company if they had studied CCEA’s Software Systems Development course. This course is a smart choice, particularly for those students who want to keep their options open and make themselves more employable in Northern Ireland.”
One of the challenges of introducing such a new and forward looking course as this is developing the capacity within schools to teach the content. And in this context we very much appreciate the initiative of Allstate and its ‘Teacher’s Technology Training’ programme. We will continue to work in partnership across the local IT industry to further develop the knowledge and skills of our teaching workforce.
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