Chris, European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)

Chris Pateman, Administrator for the SWLLN Progression Framework Team recently completed the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL).

Chris Pateman left school at 16 then went to Secretarial College. Since then all the studying Chris has done has been whilst she has been working, such as an NVQ3 in Business Administration.

During her last appraisal Chris discussed her training needs with her line manager and they agreed she would take time out to complete the ECDL, in part to support her extensive work with databases.

Before embarking on the course Chris attended a pilot scheme at Bournemouth University where she had the opportunity to sample two taster modules. This helped her feel that she was making an informed decision when she enrolled for the ECDL.

The tutorials for the course were delivered on-line. Bournemouth University offered its own on-line training which Chris undertook.

On first glance Chris felt the training sessions looked really user-friendly. “If you got stuck on any part you could just go over the training session repeatedly to cement my understanding of the unit. I also bought a syllabus training book which was helpful.”

 “Each module was divided into a series of subjects,” said Chris. “Each subject then took up to half an hour to listen to which was time consuming but the tests at the end were good revision. I did, however, find it a little frustrating at times that I couldn’t forge ahead with the sections I felt I knew.”

Chris often chose to listen to the tutorials in her lunch break when the office was quiet. “It was sometimes hard to fit in especially finding time to set aside without interruptions in a busy office. The good thing was that you could pause it at any time,” said Chris.

The ECDL is flexible. You can take up to two years to complete it. “I was pleased that I was able to take a break from the course when I was given a new role at work,” said Chris. “Once I felt confident in my new position I returned to the ECDL training sessions.”

The course was really relevant to Chris’s work, especially the database module.

 “The work I was undertaking in my job helped me on the course and vice versa. Having completed the ECDL I’d definitely consider doing another course, perhaps one specifically related to databases.”

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