ABU DHABI, 9 April, 05 (WAM) - The UAE Air Force Air Defence (AFAD)recently held a graduation ceremony for the officers who successfullycompleted their International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) trainingand examinations and received their official ICDL certificates. Thisfollows the collaboration announced in July 2004, between AFAD and ICDLGCC Foundation to offer ICDL to all personnel.
The graduation ceremony was attended by Major General Khalid bin AbdullahAbu Al Ainnain, General Commander of UAE Air Force Air Defence, JamilEzzo, Director General, ICDL GCC Foundation and UAE Air Force officers,at the Officers Club in Abu Dhabi, according to a press release.
Addressing the graduating officers, Major General Abu Al Ainnain stressedthe need for acquiring IT skills for all personnel of AFAD and spokeabout the benefits of the ICDL programme, which helps simplify the complexitiesof IT.
"As computers help increase efficiency, accuracy and speed, they havebecome essential in every field of activity. However, in order to drawoptimum benefits from computers, it is necessary to acquire the necessaryskills to use computers and the common applications. ICDL is an internationallyrecognised standard, designed to give you the stepping stone into theworld of knowledge and we are pleased with the number of officers thathave acquired the ICDL certification to date. We are confident this willenable them to enhance their performance in their area of work," saidMajor General Abu Ainnain. He also announced the launch of an e-Learningportal that will provide officers and their families with access to arange of online courses. He concluded by congratulating all graduatingofficers and thanked ICDL GCC Foundation and the Information TechnologyDepartment (ITD) Air Force Air Defence for their support in furtheringIT literacy within the Air Force institution.
"ICDL GCC Foundation is delighted to see the officers of the UAE AirForce Air Defence acquiring their computer skills based on the ICDL syllabusand international standards," said Jamil Ezzo, Director General, ICDLGCC Foundation. "We believe that the ICDL certification will give eachofficer, the required competence to explore a world of knowledge andto advance their skills in using it not only on the job, but also intheir day-to-day personal life." "As the country's premier defence unit,the UAE Air Force Air Defence has shown tremendous foresight by adoptingICDL for its personnel," added Ezzo. "This demonstrates AFAD's commitmentto enhancing the IT skills of all its employees. This approach will enablethe organisation to introduce new technology with a greater degree ofsuccess, as the officers would be competent in computer skills." Followinglast year's agreement between AFAD and ICDL GCC Foundation, the ICDLprogram will be in the near future, required for new recruits and existingpersonnel of UAE Air Force. The programme is being administered jointlyby ICDL GCC Foundation and UAE AFAD in a dedicated state-of-the-art trainingand testing centre based at the AFAD.
ICDL is the internationally recognised IT proficiency standard ownedby the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) and recognized by internationalorganizations, educational ministries, vocational training institutionsand employers worldwide.
The ICDL UAE AFAD Training program covers the key concepts of computing,its practical applications and its use in workplace and society. Thetraining exposes candidates to basic concepts of IT, computer hardwareand software management and gives in-depth training in word processing,spreadsheets, databases and presentation packages.
