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What is ECDL - official austrian version
(translated and paricullary shortened from me, you can find the original files at OCR-Server)

Aim of ECDL

The European Computer Driving Licence - ECDL is a standardized european-wide certificate about knowledge and skill of computerusers. It is defined from CEPIS (Council of Professional Informatics Societies) and valid for all european countries. In Austria the ECDL is issued from the Österreichischen Computer Gesellschaft (OCG) respectively the from the OCG authorised education-institutes.
The EC supports the development of this concept, whose aim is to raise the computer-specific knowledge and skills of computer users. The introduction of the ECDL aims at improving the knowledge of employees and by these, means enhance their perspectives in professional life. Concerning national economics the competitive will rise.

Target groups (comment: actually everybody!!! )

The target group include everyone, who has to work or will work with computers as as computer user.
It especially addresses:

1.Employees of all professional groups
2.People, who reentered the working force
3.Unemployed people who want to develop their knowledge
4.Pupils or students, who want to enter professional life

The ECDL offers the computer-users an official proof of their skills, which should help them to find a job or to progress in professional-life. To participiants of computer courses the ECDL offers an international standard, with which the efficiency of the courses can be messured (Qualityprotection). For the seller of education-programmes and training-courses the ECDL offers the possibillity of being international comparable in their development. Pupils and students are able to use the computer-driving-licence as evidence of their computer science basic knowledge and skills.

Which skills are in demand?
Practice-related user-relevant skills are placved in the foreground, seven partial tests, from which the ECDL is composed. Examination is split into 7 modules.

Structure of ECDL - The 7 units

The applicant purchases a Skills Card on which the attended courses of the ECDL will be entered. There are seven units, a theoretical one and six practical ones. The order in which the examinations of the particular units are taken is left to the participant. The dates of examination can be chosen by the participant and the exams can furthermore be taken at several authorized organisations. Your results will be entered in a "Skills-Card" (ECU 40.-). If you have completed all units sucessfully you can obtain the europeanwide valid ECDL.

The 7 units:

1.Basics of information-technology (theoretical)
2.Using computers and operating systems
3.Word processing
4.Spreadsheets
5.Database systems
6.Graphics prensentation
7.Information- and communication-networks

The practical parts (unit 2-7) will be examed at PCs and Workstations. The exam concentrates on basic skills not on company-specific features. The exam is independent from certain software-developers or plattforms (for example Unix, Windows, Apple etc.).

The way to ECDL

There are two ways of obtaining the ECDL:

  • 1. The courses from the authorized Test Centers are reconciled with the demands of the ECDL. After completion of one course you shouldn't have any problem in solving a 45-minute exam and proove your skills field of application.
  • 2. The exams can also be taken without having attended a computer-course. If you think/feel that you already have enough abilities for a unit you can take your exam at one of the authorized test-centers at the next possible examination date.
    For further details contact a testing center...*

ECDL in Europe / History

The Computer-Driving-Licence was founded 1994 in Finland. Until 1996 22.000 finnish licences were issued.

A company named CEPIS bought the idea from the Finns and took care of the programme in the course of a Task-Force. Soon activities related to the original idea exceeded the limits of a Task-Force and early 1997 the ECDL-Foundation for administrationing and marketing of ECDL was founded.

Following the finnish example the Driving Licence was installed officially in several european countrys in 1997. Yet (9/97) 10 european countries are members (licensees) of the ECDL-Foundation.

ECDL in Ausria

ECDL - Test Centers in Austria:
Berufsförderungsinstitut Oberösterreich (bfi OÖ)
Berufsförderungsinstitut Wien (bfi Wien)
B.I.T. Schulungscenter (Graz, Wien, Linz)
E.C.I.-EDV College International (Salzburg)
Institut 2F (whole Austria)
Karat Software VertriebsgesmbH (Schwendt/Tirol)
Seminar Zentrum Mariahilf (Wien)
Sight & Sound Studio (Wien)
Team Work Erwachsenenbildung GmbH (Wien)
WIFI (PCU + PCA = ECDL) in whole Austria Burgenland Kärnten Niederösterreich Oberösterreich Salzburg Steiermark Tirol Vorarlberg Wien
W.I.N. Computer Vienna GesmbH (Wien)
Soon:
Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Datenverarbeitung (ADV, Wien u. Waidhofen a. d. Ybbs/NÖ)
Berufsförderungsinstitut Salzburg
Berufsförderungsinstitut Steiermark

Austrian Computer Society

Since 1997 the Driving licences are issued also in Austria. For that reason the OCG became a member of the ECDL-Foundation and is now the official licencee for ECDL in Austria. The OCG is authorizing education-institutes of best reputation to excecute the tests. The successfully completed Skills Card (with all 7 units) can be transformed into a valid computer driving licence at the OCG.
During first negotiations with relevant federal ministries, the social-partners, representations of interest and education-institutes in Austria wide interest and support was granted. Particular information about first pilot-projects (Institutes/Test Centers, will offering the ECDL this year already) will be avaialble soon. But, of course, it will be possible to purchase the ECDL in each Austrian state in 1997.

*...cutted by the author
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