SureSkills and the Irish Computer Society tackle the ICT skills shortage
SureSkills and the Irish Computer Society have joined as national partner for ICDL Workforce.
Technology is changing the workplace at an ever faster pace. Existing jobs are evolving and new ones are appearing. One thing is certain: digital skills are vital in the workforce.
Maintaining Ireland’s competitive edge on a global scale and improving the future of education across the country is essential.
“Ireland is part of a global race for talent and that we are increasingly competing for inward investment and export opportunities on the basis of the quality of our workforce.” – ICT Skills Action Plan 2014-2018.
Recognising the nationwide issue, the Irish Computer Society and SureSkills have made it their mission to ensure Ireland’s IT workforce is digitally-enabled and ready to take on the new challenges triggered by digitisation and digital disruption.
“Keeping pace with the latest technology used in your workplace can be a challenge. ICDL Workforce is part of the solution, letting you expand and update your digital skills. Its flexibility means that you can focus on the skills you need to advance your career.” says Jim Friars, CEO of the Irish Computer Society.
Are you really as digitally skilled as you think?
“You might think you have the digital skills that you need, but there’s a high chance that you don’t! In Austria, a study showed that, while 84% of those asked felt that they had ‘very good’ or ‘good’ knowledge of the internet, 49% scored badly in practical tests.
It can be bad for business to make optimistic assumptions about your team’s digital competence as well. ICDL can help you to assess, develop and certify your employees’ digital skills,” continued Friars.
“Digital capability is increasingly the chief catalyst of business growth. It is critical to optimising the digital customer experience; driving innovation and delivering efficiency improvements,” says Mark Egan, Chairman of SureSkills.
“ICDL Workforce provides organisations with a flexible solution to ensure that your employees have the digital skills that they need. We have a lot of experience working with businesses to help them optimise the talent they have. It is often core office IT skills that people need to improve on.
“Using ICDL Workforce, you can assess the existing skills of your employees and plan the training that is right for them and your organisation” continued Mark.
Why Certification?
Certification is a reliable measure of a person’s digital skills. In a study in Switzerland, participants who held ICDL certificates performed 24% better in practical tests of their abilities than those without.
Incorporating learning materials and formal certification of digital skills in real-life scenarios ICDL Workforce offers flexible programmes that help businesses to develop their employees’ digital skills.
ICDL Workforce programmes are developed to the same internationally validated standards used by more than 24,000 businesses and organisations and 14 million candidates globally.
For more information about ICDL email icdl@sureskills.com or call (01) 240 22 77.
Press Release contacts:
Jennifer Fitzpatrick Jennifer.fitzpatrick@sureskills.com
Michael Tighe michael@ics.ie