Computer Skills for Africa receives Platinum Award from the ICDL
Newcastle based Computer Skills for Africa (CS4A) has been awarded a platinum certificate from the International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) for their contribution of integrating technology into education. ICDL South Africa recently launched their four-level Awards Programme to recognise the achievements of organisations and educational institutions who contribute to increasing the levels of ICT competency in South Africa. CS4A gained top spot due to the entire staff complement being ICDL qualified.
A leading supplier of accredited training in end user computer skills to people of all ages and at any skill level in Kwa Zulu-Natal, CS4A say they didn't set out to win the award.
"Of course this is a great achievement for us and we are very proud of being the first organisation to achieve this award, however the award was never the objective for us. What we had in mind was to excel in what we do," says CS4A founder, Greta Bosiers.
Bosiers says since 1999 the company's curriculum has been used in primary schools and high schools as well as by adults who are studying computer skills. Every member of the CS4A facilitates computer skills and they supply educator training, a computer curriculum, ICDL support and consultations.
"The adult courses have always been very popular and have built confidence in people wanting to develop in the field of IT," says Bosiers
When staff members are not facilitating, they are performing administrative tasks related to the entire training process; marketing the company; managing assessments; communicating with clients and suppliers or designing course material for all ages and all levels.
It is a company requirement for all team members at CS4A to have an ICDL qualification, within three months of joining the organisation. Tuition for team members is free whilst the company pays half of the registration and the exam costs. The other half (and any rewrites) are paid for by the team member. This training investment is recovered should the team member leave the company before the investment time is up (three years).
"We do the same with the Advanced ICDL modules, in fact we already have two Advanced ICDL experts and it is our goal to make the entire team Advanced ICDL certificate holders," says an enthusiastic Bosiers.
The ICDL SA Awards Programme is based on the number of ICDL qualifications obtained by each company or educational institution. In order to be eligible for the award, a minimum of 10 individuals per company or institution is required. The other categories are gold, silver and bronze. The Gold Award will be awarded to the company/institution that has 90% of their enrolled entrants passing, whilst the silver and bronze awards will be afforded to those companies/institutions that have 70% and 50% of the total complement of entrants respectively obtaining their ICDL qualification.
"Numerous organisations and educational institutions recognise the importance of the ICDL qualification and in fact encourage their staff and students to complete the qualification," says Jennifer van Niekerk, CEO of the ICDL in South Africa.
The ICDL programme comprises seven modules – concepts of Information Technology (IT); using a computer and managing files; word processing; spreadsheets; database; presentations and information and communications. Obtaining the ICDL certification requires commitment and dedication and a candidate must demonstrate practical proficiency in each of the most commonly used software tools. The candidate has to pass all seven modules for a 'Full Certificate' with a 75% pass mark.
The ICDL certification (known as the European Computer Driving Licence in Europe) is available in 148 countries globally and has been translated into 41 different languages.
For further information contact:
Jennifer van Niekerk or Simone Jagger-Smith
Tel: 021 6711070
Email: jenny@icdl.org.za or simone@icdl.org.za
