Home > News > January 2004 > 21-Jan-2004

British Computer Society launch skills programme for the IT illiterate

Nearly a third of the UK's population are being left behind in our increasingly information driven society, thwarted by a genuine fear of attempting to use a computer. That is why the British Computer Society (BCS) has introduced a new skills programme designed specifically for such technophobes and which promises to speedily enable a major part of society with the rudiments of IT communication skills.

The new BCS EqualSkills course will shortly be available from a wide range of adult education institutes and local training providers. It promises a fun, informal and uncomplicated introduction to computers, and is designed to show the use and role of technology in the everyday lives of all society, regardless of status, education, age, ability or understanding.

EqualSkills is a short, staged training and assessment programme with a certificate awarded upon successful completion to acknowledge achievement. The programme will be fun, informal and easy-to-use and will show newcomers to IT the very basics of computing from learning how to switch on a computer, use a mouse to exploring the internet for the latest weather updates and holiday bargains.

Specifically designed to address the needs of those intimidated by computers, EqualSkills is the first step on the IT skills ladder, with candidates then encouraged to move on to the internationally recognised European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) IT qualification, also managed by the BCS in the UK.

EqualSkills will cover four topics: Computer Basics; Introduction to the Desktop; World Wide Web and Email, and will be taught by a tutor at participating centres with candidates progressing at their own pace through an EqualSkills workbook.

In line with the BCS's aims to promote the relevance and importance of Information Technology, EqualSkills will help ensure IT is accessible to everybody in society and highlight the simple benefits computers and the internet can offer.

ECDL UK director Pete Bayley welcomes the new programme: "A great misconception exists that most people are at least familiar with the rudiments of computing and are familiar with popular terms such as ‘email' and the ‘web'. But although IT literacy on the whole has increased dramatically in recent years, thanks to the BCS's success in promoting the importance of IT skills through its ECDL certification products, a serious gap has opened up between the computer literate and illiterate. EqualSkills will, I believe, go a long way to help bridge this gap and enable computer novices to become fully involved in the information age."

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