Computer Driving Licence for All Civil Servants

31 October 2006

The Government of Croatia announced last weekend that all employees receiving salaries from the State Budget will have to pass, over the coming two or three years, the ECDL Programme (European Computer Driving Licence). ECDL is internationally recognized computer literacy standard, designed under the �Leonardo da Vinci� Programme, implemented by the European Commission.

The basic ECDL programme includes: (1) Basic concepts of information technology; (2) Use of computers and database management; (3) Text processing; (4) Tabular calculations; (5) Databases; (6) Presentations; (7) Networking and internet.

The programme is designed in such a way to remain independent from individual makers of hardware or software, which provides the participants with flexibility and freedom to acquire the basic IT knowledge in any software environment.

According to the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, 250 teachers of information and computer sciences are going through the process of certification for advanced level of ECDL, with the aim to create the foundations of schools, all over Croatia, that will be able to register as authorized ECDL test centres. That should cut the costs of the programme, having in mind that schools already have existing infrastructure.

In addition to the 250 trainers, 4000 employees and civil servants are planned to be trained this year. Depending on the 2007 Budget, the plans are to educate up to 10,000 employees.