• Home

Infotech ‘holds the key to breaking barriers’

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Mr Ezzo said that IT knowledge was the key factor for growth in any economy. “The basic aim of ICDL is to empower individuals on basic computer operating systems,” he said, adding that this itself improved the economy as vendors ended up selling more computers, training was provided to more people and many people were becoming computer literate in general. The programme has already been implemented in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and is yet to be implemented in Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Giving details, Mr Ezzo said that for individuals, the programmes increases knowledge and confidence, improves job prospects, is an internationally recognised qualification and also confirms up-to-date IT skills to prospective employer.

“For the organisations, ICDL helps increase IT quality and productivity, improves pay-back on IT investment (ROI), measures training results, provides a computer skills inventory, reduces technical support overhead and provides a benchmark for employee recruitment, promotion, and retention,” he added.

Mr Ezzo informed that ICDL was working as a Non-Governmental Organisation to promote computer literacy worldwide with the support of Unesco. ICDL GCC was formed in July 2003 and was appointed by UNESCO, Cairo.

He also said that the Dubai e-Government had selected modules that were being trained and tested which was now a requirement for all Dubai government staff. “The initiative is designed to provide IT skills to government employees through online and classroom training that lead to the ICDL certification,” he explained.

The topics covered in the programme include introduction to key IT concepts, practical use of IT solutions and file management, Word processing, Spreadsheets and e-learning solutions. Other government departments that had already implemented the programmes include Tanmia, Ministry of Education, several private schools and universities.

“Most of the education ministries in the AGCC have endorsed the ICDL programme at the school level. The UAE Ministry of Education has prescribed the ICDL programme for all their teachers,” he said. He also said that the Abu Dhabi Education Zone has already adopted the ICDL programme in two of its schools and plans to have all 54 of its schools accredited

for ICDL training. “Kuwait and Oman have made it mandatory on all its teachers to become ICDL certified and incorporated the ICDL syllabus in their curriculum,” he added

Mr Ezzo said that ICDL is also gaining acceptance into the corporate sector, with several organisations, public and private, embracing it as the standard for imparting crucial IT skills to employees. “Many organisations have made it mandatory for all their employees, existing as well as new recruits, to have ICDL certification, a strong endorsement of the efficacy of the programme,” he said.

• UAE