Institute to assist students, private sector & Sharjah Water & Electricity Authority employees; 1,000 trainees expected initially
The Sharjah Institute of Technology (SIT) has been accredited as an official International Computer Driving License (ICDL) training and testing centre by the ICDL GCC Foundation, the governing body and certification authority of the ICDL program in the Gulf. The accreditation complements SIT's advanced training and study programs, which aim to help qualify learners and trainees and provide them with essential practical skills.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Institute will provide training and examination to assist its students as well as employees from Sharjah Water and Electricity Authority (SEWA) and other private companies in obtaining the ICDL certification. The first batch of trainees is expected to reach around 1,000. The agreement was signed by H.E. Eng. Al Waleed Khalid Bin Khadim, General Director of SEWA, and Jamil Ezzo, Director General of the ICDL GCC Foundation.
"We welcome this accreditation, which significantly expands the Institute's training capabilities and advance its goal of guiding students in understanding and using advanced technologies. The application of technology is vital for SEWA to successfully deliver its services to the general public. We have thus made the acquisition of ICDL a requirement for present and future employees; we want to fully recognize the important role of computer skills in today's working environments," said Bin Khadim.
"We are proud to partner with the Authority in adopting ICDL standards to promote an information culture among staff. This partnership opens the door for employees to acquire new skills and become competent in basic computer applications. It will contribute to increased productivity within various work environments and enhance the standard of living in general," said Ezzo.
ICDL holders enjoy broader job opportunities since companies prefer candidates who possess considerable IT knowledge. This has been one of the motivations of the ICDL GCC Foundation to intensify its regional IT literacy campaign. The Foundation also supports regional initiatives to transition into a digital society.
"There is a general regional movement towards digital literacy and an automated economy, thus making computer skills essential in work environments and across various economic activities. IT proficiency is being increasingly viewed as a necessary means to improve standards of living as well. These factors continue to encourage us to strengthen our partnerships with governments in the Gulf so that we can promote digital knowledge across all sections of society," concluded Izzo.
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About ICDL
International Computer Driving License (ICDL), is an internationally recognised computer proficiency standard that is owned by the European Computer Driving License Foundation (ECDL) and introduced by the UNESCO's Cairo Office (UCO) for Arab states in 2001, is gaining increasing acceptance in the Middle East, with several governments adopting and prescribing it to their employees. The ICDL program exists in over 140 countries, and is offered in 36 languages, including Arabic. The programs offered are all based on one standard syllabus and question set. There are more than 26,000 centres worldwide, above 5 million candidates, more than 1 million issued certificates and over 20 million exams have been taken globally since the launch of the program year 1997.
About ICDL GCC Foundation
ICDL GCC Foundation was created by the ECDL Foundation, the not-for-profit global governing body of the ECDL and ICDL member countries dedicated to helping raise the general level of computer skills in societies and providing access for all to the information society, to serve the to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States with their implementation of ICDL and for providing them with localised support to ensure quality of ICDL programs. The ICDL GCC Foundation is the sole accreditation body that is responsible to support ICDL accredited training and testing centres in the GCC. It also acts as the reviewing and approving body for the local adaptation of ICDL programs.
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© Press Release 2008
