UAE Air Force Air Defense to adopt ICDL training to enhance computer skills of its personnel

ICDL-GCC Foundation and UAE AFAD will jointly administer the program in a dedicated state-of-the-art training and testing centre to be opened at the AFAD.

ICDL is an internationally recognised computer proficiency standard, governed by the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), the not-for-profit global regulatory body of the ICDL member countries, and administered by the ICDL GCC Foundation the regional governing body of the ICDL GCC member countries. The ICDL programme has been recognised by international organisations worldwide such as UNESCO and the World Bank, and has achieved remarkable success in the Middle East, with several education ministries, academic institutions, government, and privet organizations adopting it as a benchmark for their personnel skills in an IT environment.

Announcing the strategic tie-up, Major General Khalid Bin Abdullah Al Bu Ainnain, UAE AFAD General Commander, said, "The UAE AFAD has reached a crucial stage in the modernisation of our forces. With IT becoming part of every activity, it has become imperative for our young men and women to acquire computer skills not only for advancing their knowledge, but also for doing any routine administrative function. After studying ICDL's global success stories in training all categories of people in basic IT proficiency, we are pleased to announce this alliance with IDCL- GCC Foundation."

"We are going through an era of qualitative change. At UAE AFAD, we are constantly engaged in building an elite fighting force which can defend our country and work for its future. With ICDL certification, we arm our personnel with the essential tools to tackle the field of IT, which forms the part and parcel of the battlefield of the future," added Major General Khalid Bin Abdullah Al Bu Ainnain, UAE AFAD General Commander. As a result of the new partnership, the ICDL certification program will be made mandatory for all new recruits and existing personnel of UAE AFAD.

"We welcome the decision of UAE AFAD to adopt ICDL certification for its personnel. This has once again demonstrated the quality of the ICDL program as the most practical way of learning, testing and certifying basic computer skills required in the everyday professional and personal use of computers,' said Jamil Ezzo, Director General, ICDL-GCC Foundation. "We are pleased to partner with the responsible people at UAE AFAD to assure that the delivering of the ICDL certification program to the elite personnel of the UAE AFAD is as per the stringent international quality standards set by ECDL Foundation"

The ICDL-UAE program covers the key concepts of computing, its practical applications and its use in workplace and society. The program will expose candidates to basic concepts of IT, computer hardware and software management and give in depth training in word processing, spreadsheets, databases and presentation packages.