Improve Your ICT Skills to Get a Job, Urges the British Computer Society
16 July 2012
With unemployment currently at 2.61million in the UK, competition for jobs is likely to be even tougher in the coming months. ‘BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT’, the ECDL National Operator in the UK, is encouraging workers and recent students to make sure their ICT skills are up to scratch in the race for employment.
Martyn Lambert, Director of qualifications at BCS says: “Although employment figures show that things are starting to improve, competition for every job is still very strong and so it pays to be able to prove that you have relevant qualifications, especially ones in ICT that employers want.
Research shows that 77%[1] of roles today require some element of ICT. This means that many employers are looking for people who are digitally literate”.
Martyn continues: “We all think that we’re digitally literate, we can use Facebook and know how to tweet, but there’s much more to applying ICT in the workplace. Employers are looking for people who are able to operate technology whether that’s inputting data, using a computer-based till, or producing information on a spreadsheet or word processing document.”
One of the most popular qualifications that can help individuals improve their skills is ECDL. Over 2 million people in the UK have registered to study the seven modules that range from basic concepts of IT, through to creating and managing files, spreadsheets, using presentation software and understanding basic IT security issues. The modules can be taken in any order over three years.
Martyn concludes: “Gaining qualifications that help you prove your skills to potential employers can help you gain that competitive edge in a job hunt. Research[2] has shown that vocational qualifications are comparable to academic qualifications in helping to achieve promotion and a pay rise.”
Source: BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
[1]Eskills UK
[2]Survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of Edge
