The FITS Foundation was formed in September 2009 as a not-for-profit organisation limited by guarantee to manage the on-going development and support of FITS so that it became self-funding.
The aims of The FITS Foundation are to spearhead the professionalisation of the ICT workforce in the Education marketplace, improve the quality of ICT technical support services through the use of a structured service delivery framework and have a positive impact on teaching and learning experiences and outcomes.
The first stage of the journey towards a self-funded model was to create nationally recognised accreditations for all those involved in ICT technical support in education. Consequently, two levels of accreditation have been designed and are now registered on the National Qualifications Framework. They are ICT Support in Education – Practitioner and ICT Support in Education – Manager.
To support these accreditations we have designed two matching training courses which are run over two or three days, depending on the course, and delivered by one of a number of training partners located in regional areas of the UK that we have signed up for this purpose.
The fees received for these courses and corresponding examination provide the first revenue stream towards our self-funding model.
The company was initially grant funded through Becta. The company is now also seeking alternative funding and sponsorship to cover operations in the longer-term. If you share our vision of improving the teaching and learning experiences in educational establishments please contact us to discuss the sponsorship opportunities available.
The international market for FITS continues to grow with courses planned to escalate in Australia during the coming year, Norway to come on stream and the US to begin running courses.
Our Australian partners cover the southern hemisphere and are planning to roll out FITS in Australia during the last quarter of 2010. In the first quarter of 2011 they are planning a launch in New Zealand and into Singapore during the second quarter.
Norway are coming over to the UK for training in November this year when the training partner agreement will be signed for FITS training throughout the whole of Norway.