In its continued efforts to implement e-Government practices, the Jordanian Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MoICT) launched the first phase of the International Computer Driving License (ICDL) program. The initiative, valued at 2.5 million Jordanian Dinars ($3.54 million), aims to train 20,000 government employees from across the kingdom and get them ICT literate by the year 2005.
“It is our responsibility to increase the IT competency of civil servants and equip them with the necessary skills to bring the benefits of e-government to every citizen”, said Fawaz Zu’bi, minister of ICT. “We have laid the foundation for the e-Government program in Jordan and
this is the official kick-off to get Government employees fully trained.”
The ICDL program covers basic IT literacy and is divided into four modules: an introduction to IT, Windows environment, Word processing, communications and internet. For the first time, in addition to English, the program will be taught in Arabic.
Preparations for the program have been underway for two months, which included translation of all of the course materials and awareness programs for both the training providers and the training coordinators of involved governmental institutions.
“This pilot phase, which includes the training of 1,000 government employees, has successfully been kicked-off with training taking place initially in nine public and private centers. The training courses take two months to complete followed by the candidates undergoing examination to obtain ICDL certification,” said Nabeel Fayoumi, ICT Education and Training advisor at the ministry of ICT.
Last month, the ministry of ICT signed a partnership agreement with UNESCO to provide funding for the IT training to Jordanian government employees and facilitate the introduction of the ICDL for the pilot training and certification program. The USAID-funded AMIR Program, through its ICT initiative, will provide management support of the program, which includes; technical assistance, devising implementation plans, monitoring the roll-out and reviewing the
business plan.
The MoICT is responsible for articulating policy in the areas of IT, telecommunications and post in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The Ministry’s mandate includes creating an enabling environment for ICT investment, overseeing promotion of ICT opportunities in Jordan, and creating national awareness about the importance of the sector to economic development. Dubbed as Jordan’s e-Ministry, it has also been assigned the responsibility of overseeing the Jordan e-Government Initiative. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
