Wrap-up - Reality behind 10 myths about computer skills training in Ohio

What is this series about?  Please click to read the introduction.

Review:  The 10 Myths

• Myth #10: “Our business is stable and isn’t likely to change.”
• Myth #9: “I’m not worried about a broad range of basic skills.  I need people who can focus exclusively on a single application that is the basis for their jobs.”
• Myth #8: “I can’t afford to support training for my employees.  Education is too expensive.”
• Myth #7: “I paid my taxes for the educational system to give people – my employees and prospective employees – an education.  I should not have to provide extra training.”
• Myth #6: “Security is simply a matter of tighter rules and stricter policies – training in computer skills won’t make a difference.  In fact, the more people know about the computer, the more exposed my organization is.”
• Myth #5: “There are certificate programs for everything – there’s no way to tell if this one is any different or worth anything in the end.”
• Myth #4: “If I spend time and money training my employees, they will just leave.”
• Myth #3: “People coming in at ‘entry level’ don’t need a lot of skills – that can wait.”
• Myth #2: “My employees aren’t interested in more education or training.”
• Myth #1: “Technology is the young person’s domain these days – If I need more technical skills I just hire younger people – they don’t need training."

Conclusions:
These 10 Myths About Basic Computing Skills are not the only misconceptions out there.  But they are disconcertingly common as excuses to avoid the obvious and inevitable need for a program of continuing improvement in technology life skills for everyone. 

As the pace and scale of change increases, education in the 21st century must be a continuous, life-long process.  And the best way to get started is to get the basics.

If you think you – or your employees – already have the basics – you can discover whether you are correct through a simple and inexpensive assessment also offered by through Ohio Computing Unlimited’s program called TechReady™.  TechReady is correlated to the ICDL certification program and leverages the ICDL definition of basic computing skills.  For a few dollars per person, employers can determine where their staffs stand – and then take action to bring employees up to whatever standard is appropriate. 

Ohio Computing Unlimited is introducing ICDL because it is a program designed for the continuous learning world of the 21st century.   It does not probe the airy heights of the newest or most complex technology.  But ICDL does provide a standard – universally acknowledged level of knowledge from which to move on.

Ohio’s computing capacity for employees and student will be unlimited when everyone has the basic level of knowledge needed to perform the basic functions required for survival in today’s educational and professional worlds.

Don’t ignore the basics.  Embrace them, and look into ICDL as a mechanism for getting on the right road of continuous learning for the employees of your enterprise.

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)