itq or ecdl?

[angel21]

I was going to start an ECDL course with Pitman Training which costs about �300 but I've just been on the phone to another course provider and they don't offer the ECDL but they offer the ITQ/Clait qualification. She said this ITQ qualification seems to be the way forward more so than the ECDL now and thinks it will be more widely recognised. My local college is not offering ECDL this year but they seem to be offering ITQ so I was wondering is it true that the ITQ is better than the ECDL now?

[Verix]

The two are very similar to each other so i wouldn't worry if you can only get access to the CLAIT.

I don't think the CLAIT is more recognised though, my employer was specifically asking for an ECDL when i applied for the job 4 months ago. Maybe the tide is changing though.

[angel21]

Thanks I appreciate your response. I've got access to both but with the ITQ I think you actually have to get your employer to let you do this, you can't just do this course as an individual I don't think. Thats my understanding of it anyway. I don't know about doing the ECDL as I know its supposed to be widely recognised but I can't say I've ever seen an advert stating that applicant must have this. Getting a Learn Direct advisor to phone me later. It;s so annoying I was so set on doing a course and its what made me want to get up this morning but now I can't figure out if it would be worth while and if its the right course and if it would be a waste of money etc etc.

[saxy_jag]

My employers (local authority) insist on ECDL as minimum standard for admin staff. I went in there with CLAIT 3/Advanced/whatever it's called these days and this was deemed to exceed ECDL.

I have colleagues who have been in their job and using computers for just as long as I have, but who can do very little beyond the basics, even though they have ECDL and one has ECDL Advanced. Part of the problem is that ECDL is modular, whereas CLAIT, once you get beyond the basics of the main applications, teaches you to integrate them and actually use them to work for you.

[angel21]

Hi thanks saxy jag. Theres too many different qualifications out there that amount to the same/similar thing these days I think thats the trouble. It's annoying because I've got NVQ level 2 in business admin which covers a lot of the basics and some of the stuff that is covered in ECDL, but I suppose there are some employers who require a specific qualification and even if you have something similar they might disregard you completely just because you haven't got the exact qualification they want.

[Verix]

As part of your NVQ level 2 in business admin shouldn't you have completeed a CLAIT/ECDL standard computing course?

[angel21]

I done my NVQ in 2005 and it covered a few computer things like using 'find and replace' in word but it was mostly proving that you could send faxes and proving that you had a good telephone manner and you knew how to sort mail etc. It wasn't so much based on computers and applications such as excel/powerpoint/word and desktop publishing

[mifta]

Hi

Business and Admin NVQ's can cover some of the programmes, word, excel, access .etc but it depends on what optional units are selected by the learner.

You are likely to access ITQ for free, whereas you may have to pay for the cost of ECDL training.

[skyscott25]

I have just signed up to do both it only costs �180 for ECDL and �87 for Clait through my local adult learning center and you can work through in your own time �300 seems a little high to me?

[maia]

Try this link to see how the ECDL can be 'mapped' onto the ITQ - i.e., how if you take ECDL you can use it as credit towards ITQ - or not.
http://itq.e-skills.com/ITQ-qualification/1993
http://itq.e-skills.com/ITQ-qualification/Cont ributing-qualifications/1695
My cousin, who works in admin for her local council, said to my mum that the ECDL was useless now I should take the ITQ and she'd had to 'renew' her ECDL to stop it expiring. On the one hand, that's inside information, on the other, it's one person's view. I'm taking ECDL because I can do it for free as I've been unemployed/part time employed but not earning enough to sign off for over 6 months and you just sit at the computer and do the assessment on your own. After that, I want to do the ITQ professional. I'm sure there will be some formal accreditation for the ECDL in the ITQ, modern education is nothing if not organised, and if I have to retake it it won't be hard:) So see what you can get for free first, i would say. Around here, a lot of jobs ask for web design, and the local further education does a cheap XHTML course, but it fills up fast. Good luck