Information Technology Problem - People-based Solution
Do your employees have the computing skills to keep you competitive and in compliance with new laws and regulations?
Using a computer used to give a business or enterprise a competitive advantage, but today it is simply a necessity. Today, almost all businesses use computers to handle their information. With 90% of all jobs requiring some level of computer use, employers must find skilled employees. And employers need a mechanism to determine what level of skills a candidate really has.
Hiring employees with the basic computing skills necessary to be efficient and productive has long been a challenge, for a couple of key reasons:
• There has been no standard definition of "basic computing skills"
• There has been no way to verify that a candidate has actually achieved a level of basic computing skills
Ohio Computing Unlimited is introducing the International Computer Driving License (ICDL) because it corrects those problems, and assists employers in making good decisions about basic computing skills for current and future employees:
• ICDL defines "basic computing skills," a definition that has been broadly accepted in more than 130 countries
• ICDL has published a syllabus - the complete outline of knowledge necessary to be competent at the key applications in use today
• ICDL has created a performance-based certification testing program that enables an individual to prove his/her knowledge about basic applications
Assessment
TechReady™ Assessment - an hour-long test based on the structure of the ICDL program and validated against the ICDL program, is now available for Ohio employers. Useful for design of training programs or the evaluation of new-hires, TechReady can quickly determine:
• If your employees are missing key basic computing skills, and
• Which skills might be deficient
Get more information about the TechReady™ Assessment and get the facts on your staff's computing-skills status.
Training - Certification
The training to get your employees to the level of knowledge required to succeed at the ICDL certificate - is available from a number of sources. Ohio Computing Unlimited has partnered with the 50+ campuses of the EnterpriseOhio Network (EON) to provide training and testing services, as well as the career center system of more than two dozen facilities around the state. The earliest and most active of these sites is listed on our Web site. There are also a number of proprietary schools and private consultants who will be offering an ICDL-oriented educational program - the will be listed when they are operational - expected in early 2007.
ICDL has published a detailed outline of the knowledge required, and that is listed and linked on our ICDL Facts page. You in-house training program could use this outline as a model.
Testing is a critical component of the ICDL process. We already know how difficult it is to evaluate the knowledge of someone who has simply taken a class. The ICDL certification tests are online, performance-based tests that challenge the test-taker to prove they know how to function with the program under consideration. A final score, classified by category of knowledge is available immediately at the end of the test.
Hiring
Knowing the process required to acquire the ICDL - the certificate become a significant asset for new-hire candidates. If the candidate can produce the ICDL card - you know they have shown the perseverance and the knowledge to accomplish a substantial goal, and have acquired a significant level of knowledge about the computing application so vital to any enterprise in today's markets.
What's in it for management - and the organization?
Although employees are always considered an enterprise's most valuable assets, training expenses often suffer low priorities. Sometimes that is the result of a perceived volatility among employees, sometimes there are other reasons. Check out a discussion of "The Reality Behind 10 Myths About Computer Skills Training" - the rationale for pursuing training in spite of possible challenges is available in detail there.
Further, each aspect of an enterprises has a slightly different perspective and somewhat different expectations for training.
• Senior Management - Planning requires the ability to respond to tactical and strategic changes, often rapid and surprising changes. A staff that is not well-trained in a broad spectrum of computer skills can slow down the action necessary to respond to changes in the landscape. Just because word processing is a major activity today - doesn't mean that it will always be so. A well-trained staff is more ready to deal with the major challenges any 21st century enterprise is likely to face.
• CIO's - An informed user base reduces costs for help desk support, training and maintenance. CIO's have responded very positively to the ICDL program because certificate holders know the language and the processes required to help the help-desk help them. One study showed that employees spent as much as 135 hours per year dealing specifically with computing problems - and since such questions often start amongst one or more employees, those costs to the enterprise add up quickly. Broad-based, basic knowledge can reduce that time, and re-gain the lost productivity - for the CIO's staff and for the enterprise in general.
• HR - Finding qualified people is hard enough, but knowing that qualification these days almost always mean computer skills, a good deal of overhead can be expended on that assessment alone. Any candidate for hire who walks into an interview with his/her ICDL has proven - in a standard, monitored, performance-based process - the knowledge they claim. For those candidates who have not yet completed their ICDL, the TechReady Assessment is a fast, inexpensive and specific method for evaluating what the candidate really knows and can do.
ICDL and TechReady save time, save money, and prepare the employees of any enterprise for the uncertainties of a fast-moving and rapidly-changing economy and competitive landscape.
Who should be certified with ICDL?
In the not-too-distant future, jobs will be complex enough that an ICDL certificate will be desirable for almost all employees. But that has obvious expense and logistics challenges, and must be dealt with strategically. Here are some thoughts on selecting audiences within any organization to begin the process:
• Supervisors, team leaders and shift managers - These people are the first line of questioning for almost any employee who encounters a computer application problem. This is particularly true of new employees, but also longer-term employees with computer-using positions. If this audience has a solid grounding in the the key applications, they may be able to resolve a tier of problems before calling on help desk or other technical support. They will also be in a better position to expand or change their responsibilities quickly - as needs arise - by having a broad background in a variety of the key applications.
• Executives, managers - Planners and implementers need to know what capabilities are available in the systems on which the organization relies, as well as the people who generally operate them. An executive who know the complete range of capability of the organization's assets can make more informed and more effective decisions.
• IT staff, Help Desk and Technical Support - A technology planning process cannot be maximally effective if it is not aware of what the user base is doing with the technology. While it is easy to assume that a technologist knows all about the applications on which the technology relies - practice tells us that is not necessarily true. And certainly Help Desk and support technicians must have a solid understanding of all the key applications in use in the enterprise, if they are going to provide support for them.
• Key and motivated staff - Within almost every organization there are personnel whose real working range exceeds there job title or description. these tend to be opinion influencers, attitude changers and other "soft" functions. These people can be key to propagating the importance of training among other employees. And those who express strong interest in such a program - regardless of their current role - may be showing signs of future leadership and other positive potential. Getting them these key skills now, offer the opportunity to benefit from them during the longest course of their tenure with the organization.
Don't put it off - Check out the ICDL program and get your human resources program on target this year - develop the skills in your employees before the costs of inadequate training and skill get you down!
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