For 25 years it has been possible to obtain the so-called European Computer Driving License (ECDL) in Austria, which confirms basic knowledge of programs such as Word, Excel or PowerPoint. Because this digital education is also promoted in this way in 700 schools and a number of companies, Austria ranks 4th in an international comparison after Italy, France and Singapore, even in absolute numbers. 23,480 candidates registered for the exam in Austria last year. To date, 790,000 people in Austria have obtained their computer driving licence.
But much more digital knowledge is needed, especially for the competitiveness of the high-wage country Austria, said Wilfried Seyruck, President of the Austrian Computer Society (OCG), at an event in Linz. There is a lot of room for improvement, especially among older people. But many young people “believe that if they use their smartphones and are good at social media, that’s enough. But even a university degree in accounting is worth nothing in practice without IT skills,” said Damien O-Sullivan, executive director of the ICDL Foundation, who traveled from Dublin for the anniversary. This foundation organizes the awarding of computer science certificates, which are standardized internationally. Outside of Europe, the computer driving license is called ICDL. There are seven standard modules in the ECDL. Additional modules such as remote working, online collaboration, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and robotics will be added in the future. Then the designation ICDL will also be used with us. From autumn, the new compulsory subject digital basic education will be introduced in all schools in grades 5 to 8 for ten to 14 year olds with one hour per week. So far there has been at most one non-binding exercise. This is intended to improve the IT skills of the population. The EU wants 80 percent of all citizens to be digitally competent. Currently it is only 56 percent. Another goal of the EU is that 20 percent of the students can work in digitally oriented jobs. It’s currently eight percent. In this respect, O’Sullivan welcomes the introduction of the compulsory subject, because “it prepares boys for digital jobs and makes girls in particular more open to technical training.”
Source: Nachrichten
