| Company News |
SANTA MONICA, CA. September 2, 2004
ITV Alliance Launches Certification for Television Professionals
Industry trade group to provide accredited training and professional development services to interactive television community; DigitalMentors named first curriculum development partner
The Interactive Television Alliance (ITA) has announced its rollout of an Executive Certification Program for interactive television production professionals. Offered at a significant discount to ITA members, the initiative is open to all television professionals. The trade association’s program opens with a tiered curriculum provided by partner DigitalMentors.
DigitalMentors is a global leader in digital television training and media executive education services. “Interactive television has come of age,” says ITA co-president Allison Dollar. “With that maturity the industry needs rigorous standardized training, formal job definitions, and recognized career paths. Many ITV practitioners have acquired critical skills informally, and it’s important that those skills are codified and valued properly in the marketplace. This isn’t about sending people back to school. It’s about elevating the profession to the status it deserves—and paving the way for young people entering this industry.” The training path is divided into three levels. An entry-level certification adds structure and objectivity to career progression within the industry. A mid-level credential tests baseline technical knowledge of digital television and interactive TV technologies. It includes such designations as Systems Engineer, Content and Ad creation Designer, and Applications Developer. The third and highest level of expertise in the iTV industry includes the Solutions Architect, designating the ability to integrate multiple products across the range of digital TV delivery platforms.
This inclusive program addresses these issues in a practical manner, providing a new way to appraise ITV skills and responsibility levels, and incorporating diverse systems and creative approaches. To that effect, the ITA program draws on DigitalMentors’ systematic cross-platform methodology. With over 100 hours of e-Learning content available on topics ranging from MHP and conditional access systems, to OCAP and digital set-top boxes, DigitalMentors has developed a track record in delivering relevant training to specific target groups within the sector. Partners in the ITV industry, such as OpenTV, Liberate Technologies, Scientific Atlanta, Comcast, Alticast and others have collaborated on creating blended training initiatives. The ITA plans to offer further collaborative curriculum development to its University Network. These pre-professional programs aim to seed the industry with better-qualified entry-level employees. The Dowden Center at the University of Georgia, a member of the ITA University Network and partner of Digital Mentors, has already begun this integration into its undergraduate offerings.
The Interactive Television Alliance (ITA) is an independent, non-profit trade and professional organization representing the broad interests of the entire iTV industry. Its mission is to accelerate deployment of ITV in the U.S. Member companies come from all segments of the television industry: content (networks & programmers), distribution (cable, satellite, broadcast, broadband), advertising (brands & agencies), and technology (devices & applications). For more information, go to www.itvalliance.org , or e-mail protected from spam bots, or 310.403.3004.
