Public bodies "have lessons for private sector" in IT training
Public bodies "have lessons for private sector" in IT training
Companies should follow the example of public-sector organizations such as the Bank of England, the House of Commons and the National Health Service, all of which have adopted the European computer driving licence as their reference standard for computer competence.
So says the British Computer Society, which administers the qualification in Britain. Pete Bayley, deputy director of the European computer driving licence business unit, said: "These organizations have recognized that, without an agreed level of information-technology knowledge, they are gambling with the efficiency of their services.
"These days, computer usage is universal. However, a poorly trained workforce can waste time and ultimately have a detrimental impact on a company's bottom line."
Meanwhile, a Department for Education and Skills report shows that, while the IT skills deficit persists in Britain, supply is gradually catching up with demand. The report shows that skill deficits can result in companies failing to provide the desired level of customer service. They can also lead to delays in developing new products, and difficulties in introducing technological changes and new working practices.
Pete Bayley commented: "During times of economic uncertainty, many businesses look at reducing their training budgets in order to cut costs. However, these findings demonstrate that the long-term implications of such actions are likely to harm a business's health and the IT sector as a whole.
"The report's predictions that the supply of IT training and skills development will keep pace with demand in coming years is hugely encouraging and suggests that the UK plc is beginning to recognize the vital importance of a skilled workforce within one of its most dynamic and fastest growing sectors".
In a further initiative, a European Union committee has recommended to the European Commission that the European computer driving licence be accepted as the standard basic EU computing qualification.
The EU high-level group for employment and the social dimension of the information society was charged with identifying programmes that could be used to establish a European diploma for basic computing skills.
"This is a significant endorsement", said Pete Bayley. "We have now established an explicit link between the European computer driving licence,as a pan-European tool of IT literacy, and the stated intention of EU heads of state to raise digital literacy levels across Europe, which we will continue to foster and develop."
Launched in 1998 by the British Computer Society, the European computer driving licence has been developed with inputs from more than 30 computer societies worldwide, representing more than 20,000 IT specialists. Available in more than 56 countries, it has gained widespread endorsement from educational and governmental bodies. Candidate numbers total almost 2 million globally, and there are more than 2,000 test centres.
An advanced version of the qualification has recently been announced. Like the basic European computer driving licence, it takes modular form, although each module is a qualification in its own right as it covers a specific set of skills. The qualification tests the skills required in specific roles such as accountancy, secretarial, help desks or IT support desks.
Pete Bayley explained: "Although the advanced qualification is a natural progression from the European computer driving licence, it is a major upgrade. The syllabus covers a much wider field which requires practice and established use of the many different facilities to complete. The level of competence to be demonstrated can only be gained through detailed knowledge and in-depth understanding.
"The syllabus is demanding and requires candidates to demonstrate their ability to apply relevant tools correctly within specified scenarios. We estimate that an average user will take more than 50 hours of teaching, as well as additional practice time, to complete the examination successfully."
More information is available on the European computer driving licence Web site, at http://www.ecdl.co.uk
