TCA spearheads channel clean up
Not-for-profit organisation keen to champion an industry-wide accreditation process to stamp out shady operators
Reining in the cowboys: The TCA wants resellers to be able to prove their credentials to potential customers
Too many cowboys are allowed to practise as IT resellers in the UK due to a lack of formal accreditation in the industry, the Technology Channels Association (TCA) has claimed.
As a result it has launched a consultation document on the TCA Academy, where it aims to become the hub of a new nationally accepted accreditation procedure that ensures resellers and their staff are trained and qualified to an industry standard.
Speaking at a recent TCA Conference in Leicester, Keith Warburton, president of the TCA, said: “One way or another we all have a digital life, but there is no reliable way to assess the professional skills of those firms that support our digital needs.”
He said despite a raft of vendor qualifications and accreditations, these are specific to a manufacturer’s products and of ‘limited relevance’ in a broader application.
“Equally, individuals can acquire multiple vendor and academic qualifications, but nothing ties them under one umbrella,” he added. “Business professionalism in the new economic climate will be more important than ever before as a differentiator.”
The TCA’s aim with the Academy, he said, was to allow individuals to gain an easily recognised certification that can be used as a benchmark by employers, and at the same time offer businesses a formal badge of recognition that proves to customers they are properly qualified to trade.
These certifications would be renewed annually, to ensure every firm and its employees are up to date with the latest technology and business best practices.
Individuals will be offered sales and technical qualifications, with three levels in each stream. Each stream will have three components at each level – sales/marketing, technical and business. Corporates as a whole can aim for one of three standards: Approved Supplier, Recommended Supplier and Recommended – Home Visits.
“We are aware that these are ambitious and bold plans. But if lawyers and accountants invest in professionalism, shouldn’t we be doing the same thing?” said Warburton.
The idea was welcomed by those at the launch.
Matthew Wooley, managing director of retailer Forum Computers, said: “We want accreditation, we want standards. But at the moment we have none.”
Mark Needham, chairman of distributor Widget agreed: “With the increasing number of digital home products sold, more consumers are going to want to pay someone to sort out their home computing network. Some kind of standard will need to be introduced to allow customers to feel secure about choosing a supplier.”