MEDIA RELEASE

ACS to Launch E-Commerce Driving Licence to Test User Competence

Successful European Scheme to be Adapted for Australia

Friday 4 December 1998 - The Australian Computer Society (ACS) plans to introduce a national program to train and test Australia's computer users in a bid to improve and recognise demonstrated levels of competency.

The E-Commerce Driving Licence (ECDL) scheme is based on a highly successful international program that is widely available in Europe, and is targeted for implementation in South Africa and throughout Asia next year.

ACS President, Prins Ralston, said the Australian work scene is currently dominated by people who are self-taught or have undertaken product-based courses in particular applications, with no general assessment of their abilities to use IT systems or infrastructure.

Need to Improve Competence Levels

"The emergence of the Internet and e-commerce have prompted predictions that as many as 80 per cent of Australian workers will soon rely on computers to carry out their jobs, which has highlighted the need to ensure minimum levels of competence in Australian computer users.

"The ECDL is designed to help a person 'drive' a computer with the same ease they might drive a car, raising general competence in IT to improve productivity in the workplace, and helping ensure our nation is equipped to tackle e-commerce and other challenges that will be thrown up by the Information Age," he said.

The ECDL is a practical and cost-effective way of teaching and testing the basic skills required in the everyday use of computers in business, school or the home, and also enables employers to gauge the competency of staff and job applicants.

ECDL Based on Successful European Scheme

It will be based on the European Computer Driving Licence, which is operated through a foundation set up by the Council of Professional Informatics Societies (CEPIS) in Europe, providing training and testing for 13 countries with plans to make it available in another 17 nations by the Year 2000. It is also being introduced in South Africa and the South East Asia Regional Computer Confederation plans to introduce it into Asia during the Year 2000.

The ECDL receives substantial support - both financial and policy-based - from the European Union, and can only be awarded by the professional IT society in each nation, ie. the British Computer Society in the UK. The ACS will award licences in Australia.

Training will be available through accredited industry providers with subject matter broken into seven modules, as shown below:

Basic concepts of IT
Using the computer and managing files
Word processing
Spreadsheets
Databases
Graphics
Networking and the Internet

"As the professional body for Information Technology and Telecommunications, the Australian Computer Society (ACS) has a responsibility to safeguard the best interests of both the profession and the community," said Mr Ralston.

"The ECDL adds to our holistic approach to life long learning and training within the IT&T industry and the broader community, and represents the first attempt to recognise the competency of the wider Australian population."

Equipping Australia for the Future

Mr Ralston also believes the training associated with the ECDL will help small to medium enterprises to address some of their IT requirements - helping to increase the uptake of e-commerce in Australia - and alleviate the additional support demands contributing to the IT&T skills shortage.

"The ECDL program will equip Australians with the skills to handle the Internet and basic IT&T matters as well as for clerical and administrative positions, in addition to providing them with the knowledge to undertake basic problem-solving.

"We're hoping the Driving Licence will also become a stepping stone for users by motivating them to move into other IT&T-related training for work as qualified professionals," he said.

The ACS is seeking support for the ECDL scheme from both State and Federal Governments as well as the IT&T and training industries, academia, employers and other industry bodies.

It plans to present details of the program at next week's meeting of Government and industry representatives to discuss the issues involved in the IT skills crisis and find a way forward.

This media release is located on the ACS web site at http://www.acs.org.au/news/ecdl.htm

ENDS

Media Enquiries:

Prins Ralston, ACS President, Tel: (0411) 755 069, Email: P_Ralston@ntu.edu.au

Caroline New, Caroline New PR, Tel: (02) 9980 8060 or (0411) 889 456, Email: cnew@acslink.net.au