KiwiSkills gets back to the basics

The Computer Society is trying to make New Zealand $1.7 billion a year.

That's the amount it estimates is lost because workers and individuals don't have the digital literacy that allows them to use basic applications and systems in a reasonably productive way.

"Most people learn on the job using basic applications, but they don't know much beyond that," says Rebecca Boyce, the co-ordinator of the society's new KiwiSkills programme.

KiwiSkills is a range of digital literacy benchmarking and training tools to help New Zealanders assess and enhance their core computing skills.

The basic qualification it is promoting is the International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL).

A free skills analyser has been added to the kiwiskills.co.nz website, allowing New Zealanders to quickly gain an idea of their relative core computing skill level, and the site also lists digital literacy training and assessment providers.

Those unable to get to a provider or wanting to undertake training at home can get some low-cost ICDL modules from the website.

Boyce says ICDL was chosen because it's vendor-independent and is used in 148 countries, with 10 million people having been through the training.

"A number of governments have adopted this qualification, and it has helped countries like Sweden to boost their productivity."

Whether it's formatting a document, connecting a printer or configuring preferences, the inside of a computer system can be a daunting place for users.

Boyce says she used a recent operating system upgrade as an excuse to do the course again, and noticed a boost in her own productivity.

"I've now got more confidence to do more on my laptop than I normally would, like editing settings on Outlook or improving the security in my spam filter," she says.

Boyce says computer literacy is a soft skill that employers or individuals should check against benchmarks every couple of years to make sure they are getting the most out of their technology investment.

"People take computer literacy for granted, but it shouldn't be," she says.

"We see ICDL as empowering the employee."

Paul Matthews, the Computer Society's chief executive, says the initiative means society members, who include thousands of IT professionals throughout New Zealand, will now be able to access and provide discount digital literacy training for their clients, colleagues, friends and family.

"We commissioned some major research on digital literacy last year and found people didn't know where to go and who to talk to if they wanted to address the issue, so we set out to provide a solution," Matthews says.

"We are trying to partner with as many organisations as possible to promote digital literacy and KiwiSkills."

The initiative also includes $300,000 of courseware and assistance for people working in charities.

Other organisations or individuals will be charged a relatively small fee for the courses and the certification.

"We are trying to set it up so we break even. We are a non-profit so any surplus goes straight back into education activities anyway," he says.

Phil Hurn, team leader for Bay of Plenty Polytechnic's community computing initiative, says the polytechnic is offering both ICDL and an e-citizen course for free at its campuses, public libraries and through a mobile lab bus which goes to town centres and retirement villages.

"The e-citizen course can take 10 hours or 50, depending on how much computer experience you bring to it.

"It's fantastic for people who have never been on a computer before because it's about understanding how [it] works: file management and good internet, email and work skills.

"ICDL takes about 80 hours."

Hurn says all staff at Tauranga City Council are encouraged to do ICDL training.

"For me it was great because when you are self-taught, there will be a lot of gaps in what you know."

Needanerd, a new franchise operation which aims to provide a national umbrella for the sort of one-nerd-band services that many individuals and small businesses rely on for basic support, is also offering KiwiSkills.

Director Adam Dunkley, who started the business after having problems getting local support for a national pharmacy franchise, says it's important to break down the barriers around technology for users.

"KiwiSkills is a great entry point for training for our target customer base," Dunkley says.

The nerds set up the program and users then work their way through the modules online, before they come back for the certification tests.

"It's about breaking down the fear and, in business environments, it's about improving the business."

ON THE WEB

kiwiskills.co.nz

needanerd.co.nz