DED to achieve 100 per cent ICDL qualification by June 2006

The Department also announced that it was working towards ensuring that its entire team of employees will complete the required training for ICDL by the end of June 2006. The staff at DED including all senior officials and executives, have been divided into groups with each group set to receive a 30-day training. The second group of trainees have already started the programme with 38 employees participating.

The ICDL training program was launched in October and is being organized under the strategic partnership between the Department of Economic Development (DED) and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum IT Education Project (ITEP).

"We believe in continuously achieving excellence and meeting our goals, therefore the DED has adopted ICDL training program that will advance the productivity levels of the staff members as well as raise customer service standards at the Department," said Mr. Ali Ibrahim, Deputy Director General for Executive Affairs, DED.

"The ICDL program not only enables the staff to acquire essential expertise in the use of the computer and the Internet, but also develops their skills to become resourceful and self-directed learners," he added.

The programme, which is conducted at a special Computer Lab set up at the DED, includes courses, practical demonstrations and exercises aimed at developing IT capabilities among the staff. The programme is supervised by a qualified IT instructor and uses interactive teaching methodologies.

The Department has also been accredited by the ICDL GCC Foundation as an approved ICDL Training Center, as a result of its successful implementation of the ICDL certification among its staff members.

The International Computer Driving License (ICDL) is an internationally acknowledged certificate, which recognizes the efficiency of its holder in dealing with computers. It is also an international assessment tool in the use of computer in more than 136 countries. This certificate is also known to be held by more than a million person all over the world.