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E-skills UK, the organisation responsible for IT skills development, has developed a scheme entitled Passport, a web-based, self-assessment tool to enable businesses to better analyse the IT skills of their employees and allocate training budgets accordingly.

Passport will provide individuals with a personal record of IT experience, and allows them to set improvement goals and a personal learning plan. It will also enable individuals and employers to match current IT skills against requirements in specific job roles within industries.

There are four key areas you can be assessed on. The first covers basic computer usage, the second covers applications such as email and internet, the third area looks at more complex tools such as spreadsheets and databases and the fourth tests how well you apply your knowledge in the workplace.

“The real benefit for employers is the insight they receive – we provide them with data on a monthly basis, showing them how employees are doing. We’ve made the process as intuitive as possible,” explains Martin Harvey, director of IT user skills at e-Skills UK.

Bob Fox, founder and managing director of software company Fox Online, was one of the first employers to trial the service six months ago.

“Passport gave us a different perspective on our employees’ skills. We have a lot of techies who have computer degrees so they are very well qualified – initially they scorned it but they were willing to have a go and learnt a few new things,” explains Fox.

All 12 of Fox’s staff were put through their paces, but workplace disruption and investment in time was minimal.

“It’s extremely easy to use so there was minimal impact – one day we shut the office half an hour early and asked people to assess themselves. We use it for all new employees now and on a regular basis for administration staff. Passport enables you to carry out effective due diligence amongst staff and assess their IT skills on an ongoing basis,” affirms Fox.

An e-skills Passport costs Ł10 plus VAT for one year, or Ł25 plus VAT for three years. For more information, go to www.e-skillspassport.com.

(17/8/04)

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