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A career in IT? Part 2: courses
continued from page 1
Get recognised
Recognised qualifications prove to potential employers that you know your way around a computer. These include ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) and New CLAIT(OCR Level 1 Certificate for IT Users). You can take these courses and the tests for them at local colleges and IT training centres at low cost. New CLAIT is a broad qualification for beginners - you do a core course on computing and choose four further modules to study. ECDL is a bit more advanced but less flexible - it's made up of seven units and you have to do all of them.
You can go on from CLAIT to take more in-depth courses called CLAIT Plus (OCR Level 2 Certificate for IT Users) and CLAIT Advanced (OCR Level 3 Certificate for IT Users). The knowledge and skills gained in these courses can be used as evidence towards gaining an NVQ (national vocational qualification) in information technology. An NVQ is a work-based qualification that doesn't involve exams - instead you have to demonstrate your skills in the workplace. It's common to get a trainee position where you're learning new skills at work and then work towards an NVQ with your employer's help. Software skills
The courses above will give you all-round knowledge in using computers and popular software packages. If you want to go into more depth - to become a whiz at just word processing or website design, for example - you'll want to specialise.
LearnDirect offers hundreds of IT courses, many specific to particular software packages. You can learn on an Internet-connected computer anywhere, but you'll need to take tests at a local LearnDirect centre.
Office software is dominated by Microsoft, so you might want to take a Microsoft Office Specialist exam. This will prove your skills in using popular packages like Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint and Outlook. Like many IT courses, you can save money if you teach yourself and then just pay to take the exam (around £50 for each package).
Get recognised
Recognised qualifications prove to potential employers that you know your way around a computer. These include ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) and New CLAIT(OCR Level 1 Certificate for IT Users). You can take these courses and the tests for them at local colleges and IT training centres at low cost. New CLAIT is a broad qualification for beginners - you do a core course on computing and choose four further modules to study. ECDL is a bit more advanced but less flexible - it's made up of seven units and you have to do all of them.
You can go on from CLAIT to take more in-depth courses called CLAIT Plus (OCR Level 2 Certificate for IT Users) and CLAIT Advanced (OCR Level 3 Certificate for IT Users). The knowledge and skills gained in these courses can be used as evidence towards gaining an NVQ (national vocational qualification) in information technology. An NVQ is a work-based qualification that doesn't involve exams - instead you have to demonstrate your skills in the workplace. It's common to get a trainee position where you're learning new skills at work and then work towards an NVQ with your employer's help. Software skills
The courses above will give you all-round knowledge in using computers and popular software packages. If you want to go into more depth - to become a whiz at just word processing or website design, for example - you'll want to specialise.
LearnDirect offers hundreds of IT courses, many specific to particular software packages. You can learn on an Internet-connected computer anywhere, but you'll need to take tests at a local LearnDirect centre.
Office software is dominated by Microsoft, so you might want to take a Microsoft Office Specialist exam. This will prove your skills in using popular packages like Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint and Outlook. Like many IT courses, you can save money if you teach yourself and then just pay to take the exam (around £50 for each package).
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Created: 19/02/2004 Updated: 19/01/2007
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