MITPE

1. What are among the objectives of MITPE, the reason for implementing it?

MITPE will give ‘value added’ service and strength to our Malaysian IT workforce, especially in their knowledge and skill in information technology. This will ensure that they are competitive and ready to face the global market.

Objectives of the Examination

To improve individual technical competence;
To indicate level of competency required for the various groups of IT professionals; and
To establish objective criteria for evaluating skill and competence of IT professionals. It also aims to raise the status of qualified professionals.

With the changes that are continuously taking place in information technology today, the purpose of the Information Technology Professionals Examination is both to promote the development of IT professional skills and to evaluate those skills on the basis of established criteria. To that end, the Information Technology Professionals Examination examine and test individuals on a comprehensive range of all the skills standards required by IT professionals. It is a yardstick by which IT professionals can measure their performance in a given area of expertise.

2. How do you see the level of Malaysia IT professionals compared to other countries, and what do you see still lacking in them?

It is not fair to pass a judgement unless there is a kind of study to measure the difference in standards. However, we often hear that foreign IT companies did mention that they find it difficult to find good programmers for their requirements and that local graduates for instance did not meet their requirements as reported in the media.

3. How can MITPE help boost or enhance these IT professionals?

MITPE will give ‘value added’ service and strength to our Malaysian IT workforce, especially in the knowledge and skill in information technology. This will ensure that they are competitive and ready to face the global market and the Ministry of Higher Education fully support the MITPE initiative.

The Information Technology Professional Examination accomplishes the following:

It is able to test candidates on a comprehensive range of all skills standards required for IT professional in the different categories of the expertise.
The curriculum content is based on the Japanese IT Skills standards which has been “Malaysianised” and agreed upon by the IT Committee. The same examination is conducted in Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines and Japan.
Evaluates individual skills on the basis of the scope of questions posed to examinees; and
Provides yardstick by which IT professional can measure the performance in a given area of expertise.

4. What's the difference of MITPE with other certification or examination?

MITPE is not a proprietary certificate that is unique to a specific manufacturer/vendor. It is ‘generic’ in nature.
MITPE is recognized for work and career qualification in the IT industry.
It is accepted by the Ministry of Higher Education as a professional certificate.

5. What are the benefits of MITPE to the people who take it?

Benefits of I.T. Professional Examination in Malaysia:

To encourage students and working adults in conforming to the IT skill standards and best practice globally;
To ensure the basic IT knowledge and skills of students and working adults are of international standard;
To assist students who have graduated in enhancing their IT competencies and to be more employable; and
To enhance the competencies of working adults / IT professionals.
Recognized by METI, Japan and successful candidates have higher opportunity to work in Japanese firms.
Successful candidates will be recognized as a qualified IT Professional in other participating countries (Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam )
Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE) endorses the certificate.

6. How does the system/examination work?

This idea of MITPE was derived from the IT Engineer Examination (“ITEE”) proposed by Japan in 2001. The ITEE was conceived in Japan in 1969 as a national examination, administered by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Japan (now Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan). It has played an important role in nurturing information technology engineers and has expanded into one of the largest national examination in Japan. The Malaysian government had agreed to the proposal and recommended that METEOR be given the responsibility to implement this IT Professional Examination Program in Malaysia.

MITPE Basic Structures are as follows:-

For a start, MITPE in Malaysia had implemented the Fundamental IT Professional Examination (FITPE), one of the 14 IT Professional Examination categories. METEOR had conducted the examination in October 2005 and coordinated by the Malaysian Examination Council (“MPM”). The MITPE–FITPE held held in April and October each year in all the participating countries.The MITPE-FITPE consists of two exam papers, Morning Paper and Afternoon Paper, all questions are in multiple choice format.

In Malaysia, the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) has played a role to support and encourage students and working adults in conforming and enhancing their IT skill competencies. The IT Skill Standards and IT Body of knowledge also has been created to ensure the standard of national IT knowledge and skills are as par as other develop countries.

With the establishment and acceptance of the Malaysian IT Skill Standards and IT Common Body of Knowledge on 15th February 2005 by the MITPE Committee which comprises of members from Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), JPA, 17 Public University’s (IT Council), Open University Malaysia, Multimedia University(MMU), Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry Malaysia (Pikom), Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Multimedia Development Cooperation (MDC), Malaysia Administration and Modernization Planning Unit (MAMPU) and other private entities; has further strengthen the IT Skills Standards in Malaysia. From time to time we have to update and revise the IT Skill Standards as well as the examination questions so that it will correlate with the changes of the IT environment. In Malaysia the examination is called the Malaysian Information Technology Professional Examination (MITPE).

Since Malaysia does not have any National IT related examination, JITEC will initially assistance to METEOR. The first Examination Questions Setting Workshop (“EQS”) was held at the Open University Malaysia from 30th March 2005- 31st March 2005 by EQS Committee Members. For the past two years, JITEC-IPA has provided us full support and expertise by reviewing and providing feedback on the questions.

7. How many people have taken the MITPE exam until today and where is the exam normally held?

Statistic of MITPE applicants are as follows:-

INTAKE	OCT 05	APR 06	OCT 06	APR 07	OCT 07	APR 08	OCT 08
Applicants	181	193	135	131	65	71	87

Normally the exam venues are: Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Penang. Other venues are to be considered later.

8. Who are your target audience to sit for the exam, why?

Graduates and working adults / IT professionals who wish to enhance their IT skill and competencies through certification by MITPE.

9. Does MITPE also provide training/teaching to the person who wants to sit for the exam?

We do provide tutorial class to applicants who want to sit for the exam. There are 14 tutorials all together and classes will be conducted on Saturday and Sunday every fortnight. Trainers are qualified individuals where 27 of the Malaysian Trainers had been selected and awarded scholarships by AOTS to be trained in Japan and at Open University Malaysia.

10. How to enroll for MITPE?

Download the application form from mitpe.meteor.com.my; OR

Tel	:	603 – 2616 7000
Fax	:	603- 2694 6067
Contact Person	:	Ms Lovleen Kaur (lovleen@meteor.com.my)

What is the learning methodology of MITPE?

There are 2 modes:

Examination only (without tutorial)
Candidates register for the examination only and does self manage learning.
Full Course Programme (with tutorials and examination)
Candidates will undergo 14 tutorials sessions for 3 months (Saturday and Sunday) and then register for the examination.

When is the exam?

The MITPE will be held in April and October each year.

What is the passing score for FITPE?

Morning Paper - 60 %
Afternoon Paper - 60 %

What is the MITPE-FITPE Examination Structure?

STRUCTURE OF THE MITPE
Examination Category	Morning 9.30 – 12.00 (150 minutes)	Afternoon 2.00 – 4.30 (150 minutes)
Fundamental IT Professional Examination (FITPE)	Multiple Choice test (Selection of one correct answer from 4 choices) All 80 questions must be answered	Multiple Choice test 7 out of 11 questions must be answered
	Venue:Klang Valley, Penang, Melaka, Sabah, Sarawak, Negeri Sembilan Other venues to be considered at a later stage

When is the deadline for submission of application?

November for the October Examination
March for the April Examination

What is the class (Tutorial) size?

Maximum is 30 pax
Minimum is 15 pax

How much is the fee?

Examination only (without tutorial)
Fee: RM 850.00 (Inclusive of 5 FITPE Textbooks)
Examination Only (Either Morning or Afternoon Paper) - Applicable for re-sit
Fee: RM 150.00 (Excluding of FITPE Textbooks)
Full Course Programme (with tutorial and examination)
Fee: RM 1850.00 (Inclusive of 5 FITPE Textbooks)

Does the MITPE certificate need to be renewed?

MITPE certificate doesn’t need to be renewed because this certification is not product base knowledge like CISCO product or MCSE product, which is updated yearly or in certain time. In order to be the qualified IT professional, this FITPE certificate is a great start to it since the syllabus will cover the fundamental and general key concept of IT knowledge that the IT person should have.