Mr Jide Awe, Member, Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN), says the council will sanction organisations that employ uncertified Information Technology professionals.

Awe, also the Chief Executive Officer, Jidaw Systems Ltd., made this knownin Lagos on Monday.

He said that the CPN in collaboration with relevant law enforcement agencies would enforce appropriate punishment on organisations and information technology professionals who do not register with the council.

He said: “As a professional body, it is necessary to strengthen our practice in Nigeria by ensuring that all individuals in the information technology profession are certified.

“To ensure that the general public, organisations and individuals do not fall into the hands of quacks, CPN conducts public awareness campaigns to stress the importance of employing certified information technology professionals.

“CPN also provides opportunities for employers and the public to verify whether information technology professionals have registered with CPN.

“The council also collaborates with universities, colleges, and training centres to ensure that their faculty, students and information technology programmes align with CPN’s requirements.’’

The chief executive noted that the number of computer professionals registered on a yearly basis varied between 400 and 600.

Awe said that the number of registrations per year depended on factors such as demand for information technology professionals in Nigeria, growth of the technology industry and the effectiveness of the council’s initiative to promote certification and registration.

Speaking about women professionals, he said that, annually, the percentage of women registered with the council constituted about 20 per cent to 50 per cent of the total number of new computer professionals.

According to him, the representation of women in information technology seemed to be improving due to ongoing efforts to encourage more women to pursue careers in technology and computing.