Should I do ECDL?

Disaster

Disaster

Disaster

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Ive finished college within the last few weeks but i still haven't finished the Learndirect ECDL qualification

Doing this doesn't effect my grade at all and have completed all of the units needed to go to university in September

I completed The BTEC National Diploma in Computing and ECDL are just tediuos online computing exams, I don't think that I need em

Have any of you found ECDL beneficial?
 
ECDL ?

If it's the european computer driving license i'd argue it's not worth the paper it's printed on.
 
NoodleKing said:
Most employers don't care about ECDL, showing you've got experience working on/with computers counts a whole lot more
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They do for non technical jobs, it shows a level of computer literacy. But if you're doing anything vaguely related to IT, it's far too a basic a certificate.
 
I've done ocr level CLAiT when I was like 15 then ECDL then Microsoft office specialist/ Ocr level 2 CLAiT plus

What's strange is with Microsoft office specialist not only did I get the mos certificate but they also gave me certificate for completing CLAiT plus (slightly harder than CLAiT)

Two qualifications in one.


They aren't entirely useless but I think microsoft office specialist sounds far better than ECDL don't you? when I did my ECDL they even give you this little passport it's a little over the top.



I actually failed a test once because I thought I didn't need to study. It's easy to make a little mistake very rarely people get 100%.
 
You Think thats bad, we had to do the Clait when i did carpentry and joinery back in 96, total waste of time.
 
It basically says you can turn a early 90s PC on and maybe use a word processor package.

I remember being stuck in a training centre for something one day and looking on their PC network, found the flash based exam and flicked through it.

60gb HHDs and 128mb of ram kind of days.
 
I had to do it at the age of 14 as the condition of getting a new PC to replace my old one that broke. It was a 3 hour lesson from 6-9pm every Monday night, I was out the door before 7pm since I'd finished all the work for that evening =/ The rest of the group were all 50-70 years old who've never switched on a PC before and that's the sort of person this benefits (at least this was the case 10 years ago).

The modules I was being given were easier then my GCSE IT lessons, which were also really easy and basic.
 
I did it as part of school and stick it on my CV as part of my skills section re. IT. Don't see it doing any harm. But my industry is law, not IT related so it is likely to help there I would think to back up my claim ofbeing good with computers and being interested in tech. Law.
 
I did it (read "was forced to by my boss") while I was working in a college as an IT Technician.

Think I did the whole thing in 1 sitting with no prep - it really is that easy.

Honestly, if you've managed to complete a BTEC National in IT, you're already way above the level it's aimed at - hell, if you've managed to turn on your computer and log into this forum all by yourself, you're already way above the level it's aimed at!! ;)
 
Haggisman said:
Think I did the whole thing in 1 sitting with no prep - it really is that easy.
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This. We all had to do it at work. I just walked in, sat down, asked them if I could just skip to the test, 30mins later ECDL done.
 
I had to do the ECDL as part of a work training scheme when I was unemployed. Its rediculously easy for anyone with more than basic PC skills. I breezed through the entire course in the time it took some of the more clueless people there to do the first module.

If I had just skipped all the "work" and gone straight to the tests I could have done it all in a day. As it is it took me a few weeks. At least it gave me something to do between sending off CVs and filling out application forms :p
 
I still teach CLAiT and ECDL.

They are great for novices but I doubt anyone who has done IT in school in the last 5 years will get that much out of it. It is still set as a benchmark or minimum standard for employees in certain sectors 'some NHS trusts'.

I keep thinking it will die off but companies still book the course, in fact there has been an increase this year. Usually a learner will gain something out of it, I am amazed how many secretaries still don't know how to do mail merge.
 
I think if you were leaving school at 16 and getting an office job it might be worth doing - if not then its a complete waste of time.
 
Third Opinion said:
I still teach CLAiT and ECDL.

They are great for novices but I doubt anyone who has done IT in school in the last 5 years will get that much out of it. It is still set as a benchmark or minimum standard for employees in certain sectors 'some NHS trusts'.

I keep thinking it will die off but companies still book the course, in fact there has been an increase this year. Usually a learner will gain something out of it, I am amazed how many secretaries still don't know how to do mail merge.
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General office IT skills are shocking TBH. Most know how to type a letter, make a simple graph in excel, put together a basic power point, and that's about it.

Anything out of that basic scope and they haven't got a clue.
 
ECDL is one of the worst courses I've ever taken.

But depending on the job your going for it may be worth it. Could probably be done in less then half a day.
 
I think another problem with ECDL is the way the course is delivered. I do the old school method of having a projector and physically demonstrating the skills why the class can follow. That allows me to deviate from the exact curriculum and I have written a course that puts the skills into working documents. The class can then ask more specific questions that will aid their day to day roles.

Too often ECDL is delivered via e-learning or Learndirect methods which are looking to you to carry out a specific task in a specific way. Obviously with Office applications there are many different ways of doing the task. The e-learning method is hopeless in showing people the different options and possible shortcuts.

I would say if you have a recent GCSE in IT or something along those lines it will be pretty worthless on your CV.

However if not then it is quite good to show you have a good user knowledge of the office applications. I see a growing number of jobs saying in the description you must have good Word and Excel skills. ECDL will go some way to prove you meet those standards.
 
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