Microsoft Announces New Accredited Qualification for Under-16s to Enhance Digital Skills

LONDON - 14 Jan 2009

Microsoft Corp today announced the rollout of the Digital Literacy Curriculum (DLC) to schools, a new qualification accredited by the awarding body Oxford, Cambridge and the Royal Society of Arts (OCR) to help improve digital skills for children and to equip them for greater success in the workplace.

This free curriculum developed by Microsoft will be available to all schools in the UK and will provide students with a “quick win” for their portfolio of qualifications ahead of their General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) years. The course is the ideal precursor to the ITQ, the national Level two qualification in information and communication technology (ICT) devised by e-skills UK. As well as supporting better learning for students with this curriculum, schools will benefit from 14 league table points allocated for each pupil who passes the course.

Recent research released by e-skills UK surveying employers found that 49 per cent of the vacancies they advertised specifically require IT user skills. Moreover, the proportion of employees describing the internet as “essential to their jobs” has doubled since 2001 to nearly a third today. This significance means that if young people are leaving education without the right digital skills, it will have a knock-on effect for the knowledge economy. The DLC rollout in schools is aimed at helping align the curriculum with the needs of employers, tie in with the targets set out in the Leitch Review of Skills and help young people succeed in the workplace.

The DLC has already proved to be a success when it launched for adults in April 2008 to help increase their chances of finding employment.

“Qualifications created in conjunction with industry leaders will teach real skills and better equip students for working life,” said Steve Beswick, director of Education for Microsoft UK. “We are letting down the next generation of workers if we fail to embed digital skills into the curriculum, skills that will help them succeed in the world of work. We believe the private sector needs to become an organic part of the education system, working in close partnership, so we can deliver a curriculum that will draw out the skills which are closely linked with employment.”

The DLC has already been piloted in a number of schools across the UK, with hundreds of students signing up for the course. Students are motivated by the instant evaluator which allows them to see what level they are at before they start the course and get immediate feedback at the end of module tests. The DLC provides value to all children in school — not just IT GCSE students — ensuring that all young people have the opportunity and access to gain the skills needed for the workplace and daily life.

“We’re always keen to ensure that qualifications meet the needs of industry,” said Clara Kenyon, qualifications director at OCR. “Digital literacy is one of the latest qualifications designed with the needs of the employer in mind. It will motivate young people and encourage them to climb the IT skills ladder. Digital Literacy is part of a comprehensive range of ICT qualifications available from OCR, giving teachers and students a real choice.”

More information is available at http://www.microsoft.com/uk/dlc.

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