Would you Employ only a Certified Software Engineer?

I posted the following in a group on LinkedIn after a question in the group asking what the focus of the BCS should be in 2010:

Would you employ an amateur, DIY bricklayer to build your wall?
Would you employ someone who's read a couple of accountancy books to be your accountant?

Chances are you answer is "no".

Would you employ an amateur hobbyist coder?

Chances are, the answer is "yes".

Would you build a brick wall for yourself, or would you help do the books for your club?

Chances are, the answer is "yes"

Computer programming (and that's my background) is an area where everybody feels that they can do a bit of DIY bricklaying - especially with some scripts and a spreadsheet which then becomes a business-critical application.

Professional accreditation is all well and good, but there is no difference (from employers' perspectives) between a hobbyist coder and a CITP-holder.

Other professions (law, accountancy, medicine) require their professionals to have some professional training as well as their basic qualifications. It's also difficult to be an un-registered lawyer, accountant, doctor, etc. So there is a consequence for not being professionally recognised.

Maybe we need a new CSE for the 21st century, a Certified Software Engineer. The holder of such a certification would have to demonstrate good software engineering skills: requirements elicitation, requirements modelling, solution design, coding standards, testing, source control, documentation, maintenance, etc.