Not to put words in the GP's mouth but as someone involved in hiring I find that idea intriguing, although I think how effective it would be would depend a lot

Not to put words in the GP's mouth but as someone involved in hiring I find that idea intriguing, although I think how effective it would be would depend a lot on the nature of how it was implemented (isn't that always the case, though...). The biggest problem with hiring experienced people for software development positions is the broad range of what falls under "software development". It's a very big field, and I think the breadth of the field isn't well appreciated by people working outside it -- including, particularly but not exclusively at large organizations, management and HR. A good accrediting body might do a lot as a way of ensuring a baseline level of competence for new CS grads, and in particular it might help people coming from schools that are good, but not one of the "big names", by showing that their education is up to a consistent standard. I don't know if it would do much for hiring more experienced candidates, though. Too much hinges on evaluating the experience that's being claimed since graduation.