Strategic professional
Strategic professionals form the third qualification level of IT training in Germany and are publicly recognized qualifications for advancement training . You are on the same level as the certified business economist and the certified technical business economist of the IHK advanced training system. The advanced training courses prepare for the assumption of professional positions at the upper management level and thus have an extended scope of responsibility compared to the level of operational professionals .
Profile differences
The advanced training ordinance defines two profiles for strategic professionals:
Certified IT Technical Engineer
The strategic competence lies in the areas of technology and development.
Certified IT Business Engineer
The strategic competence lies in the areas of marketing, sales, finance and controlling, as well as consulting.
In addition, competencies are imparted in both profiles that enable:
- To position the IT business areas of a company strategically on the market and to develop them accordingly
- to develop and decide strategic personnel measures and to lead managers
- to conclude strategic alliances and partnerships
Admission requirement
The following admission requirements apply to entry into the field of further training to become a strategic professional regulated by public law via the IT Further Education Ordinance (cf. §22 IT-RVO):
- a successfully passed advanced training examination to become an operational professional or
- a successfully passed university examination in a course that can be assigned to the IT area, as well as qualifications in the area of leadership and personnel management
such as
- then proves at least two years of professional experience and English language skills.
Deviating from this, anyone can also be admitted to the examination who, by submitting certificates or in some other way, proves that they have acquired qualifications which justify admission to the examination.
Examination process
The exam is divided into three parts:
- Project and business relationships:
A situation task with a processing time of 180 minutes. The candidate is informed of the topic 14 days in advance.
- Strategic HR management:
A situation-related technical discussion with a focus on personnel planning and management, as well as personnel development and qualification. The duration is 90–120 minutes, of which 30–60 minutes are preparation time.
- Strategic processes:
Documentation of a business case that is discussed beforehand with the audit committee. There is a maximum of 90 days between consultation and submission. The presentation is then followed by a technical discussion on the documentation. The duration of the technical discussion is 90 - 120 minutes.
The examination is considered passed if each part of the examination is completed with at least the grade “sufficient” .
Skill level
The German Qualifications Framework (DQR) assigns the strategic professional to EQF level 7 and evaluates the degree as being equivalent to the master’s and university diploma in terms of its level of aspiration.
The DQR is only indicative and does not influence university admission regulations. As an example, the University of Oldenburg evaluates comparable IHK degrees in conjunction with their required degrees as a total of up to three semesters part-time Bachelor's degree.
Advanced training
The strategic professional is currently the top level of the IHK advanced training system and further qualification at the IHK is therefore currently not available. The German qualifications framework expressly provides the competence to "develop innovative solutions and processes in a professional field" as an alternative to a doctorate and as equivalent to it, but the IHKs currently do not offer such an "innovative professional" in the advanced training system.
Analogous to the operational professional, the political equivalence to the master's only has an effect on the collective bargaining classifications, the academic evaluation (general university entrance qualification) does not change. This means that it is not possible to apply for a doctoral degree or a master’s degree, only an entry into an undergraduate degree. The strategic professional is credited individually by the universities and depending on the chosen course.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Further training structure - Further training information system (WIS)
- ↑ Strategic Professionals
- ↑ Profile ( Memento of the original from January 17, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ German qualifications framework - qualifications of professional advancement training assigned to DQR level 7
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20130202035140/http://www.ihk-oldenburg.de/aus-_und_weiterbildung/weiterbildung/pruefungsangebote_der_oldenburgischen_ihk/credit-points_fuer_ihk-fortbildungsabschluesse.php
