www.e-skillsnto.org.uk/qualify press info 

News Release

1 November 2000

Prove You've Got What It Takes:- Government and Industry Forge Links Between Qualifications

Malcolm Wicks commends efforts by the e-skills NTO and industry to improve the links between vendor and vocational qualifications

The e-skills NTO showed today how a selected number of vendor qualifications count towards Scottish and National Vocational Qualifications (S/NVQs), marking a major step forward in the drive to address skills shortages in the IT sector. Working with Cisco, Microsoft and Novell, a team from e-skills NTO has identified which elements of the National Standards are contained within the qualifications of the top three IT vendors. This means that candidates can use the appropriate vendor qualification to provide some of the knowledge requirements of an S/NVQ.

Malcolm Wicks, Minister for life long learning, commended the announcement, "if the UK is to benefit from the opportunities presented by e-commerce and the Internet then we must have the right skills and the right qualifications. The UK government, like the major companies in Information Technology, is investing heavily in skills for the future. I am pleased to see Cisco, Microsoft and Novell working with e-skills NTO to build links between the many qualifications in Information Technology. Such a partnership can only add to our individual efforts to address the skills needed in this essential sector of our economy. I commend the work that this partnership is doing and look forward to hearing of its further success."

E-skills NTO, Cisco, Microsoft and Novell have worked over the past year to develop a way of linking S/NVQs with top selling vendor qualifications. This has resulted in a formal acknowledgement that certain vendor qualifications are acceptable as part of the evidence of technical knowledge required for SVQs and NVQs. In future, candidates with certain vendor qualifications will part qualify for certain SVQs and NVQs. Equally those wishing to combine vendor qualifications with SVQs or NVQs will have a ready-made measure of competence based on the latest software and hardware platforms. E-skills NTO has set up an area of its website www.eskills-nto.org/qualify to explain the links.

"In defining this link we show just how well the two types of qualification work together," said Karen Price, chief executive of e-skills NTO. "We have worked closely with our industry partners to define this new way of using the knowledge from vendor qualifications to count towards an SVQ or an NVQ. Today employers and individuals who want to find out just how their qualifications relate to the SVQ or NVQ can do so on our website at http://www.e-skill.nto.org/qualify ."

Microsoft, Novell and Cisco will assist e-skills NTO to promote the qualification link through poster campaigns in schools and colleges, circulating leaflets to their own contact base, setting up 'hotlinks' between their corporate websites and the e-skills NTO website and providing training for their key partners on the qualification links.

"A well-qualified workforce is important to all our companies," stated Emma Perryman of Novell. "The right qualifications make it easier for the industry to develop and grow. It is important that we work with other IT suppliers to simplify and explain the qualifications available."

David Burrows of Microsoft added, "Microsoft is committed to addressing the IT skills gap. Worldwide there are 915,000 Microsoft Certified Professionals and we feel that the links now made to the S/NVQ system will open up further opportunities for more people to become IT qualified."

Andy McCleod of Cisco Systems underlined the efforts of the vendors in growing the networking skills base, currently in short supply. "Our academies currently train over 140,000 students across 8 countries, using 5,430 training centres. The Cisco Networking Academy Programme (CNAP) prepares students for employment, across the globe, by linking industry courses with 'real' benefit-led education. We are collaborating with governments and educational organisations, in meeting the skill demands and opportunities of the information economy by creating a qualified talent pool. Our qualified CNAP students, by building and maintaining computer networks, are making the Internet revolution a reality and providing the platform for job creation in the UK, and our ability to compete in the new global economy."

People wanting to find out more about how their qualifications relate to S/NVQs, or comment on the qualification link, can do so at http://www.e-skill.nto.org/qualify .

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