Coverage
IC³ Course Takes Off
October 18, 2009
BruDirect.com
Bandar Seri Begawan – His Majesty's Government will only be truly capable in efficiently delivering its range of services to the general public if manned by officers and staff with the right knowledge and competencies.
This was stated by the Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications, Awg Hj Mahmud bin Hj Mohd Daud, who was the chief guest at the launching ceremony of the Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³) Training Programme for officers and staff of the ministry, yesterday.
The government attaches considerable importance to the nation's development on human resource, which is evident in the hefty allocation being set aside for this noble purpose as well as the introduction of the policy requiring 100 hours of training annually for all categories of civil servants, Awg Hj Mahmud said in his speech.
He added that the Ministry of Communications is also in agreement with the belief that growth in this millennium and the next is the technology drive – particularly in information and multimedia technology – that calls for a new approach to human resource development and management.
The Information Age, as opposed to the requirement of the industrial age, calls for the creation for a large pool of knowledgable workers skilled in the use of information and multimedia technology, the Acting Permanent Secretary said "To reap the full potential of the Information Age in our quest for economic growth and prosperity, managers and workers alike will have to master information technology and adapt to the new working environment created by the IT revolution – an environment in which much of the dealings and businesses are conducted more efficiently by electronic means," he said.
"As excited as we are to embrace new technology, we must also be wary of the many examples of how destructive it can be. Not only are we exposed to information, which, if misused, can be negative, but we are sometimes exposed to a culture resistant to the changes that can bring us forward."
Among those present at yesterday's ceremony were the Deputy Permanent Secretary (Core Services) at the Ministry of Education and Chairman of Seameo Voctech as well as directors, heads of divisions and senior officers at the Ministry of Communications.
The Seameo Voctech Regional Centre has been running the IC³ Training programme since 2006. Previously, the centre implemented the International Computer Driving License Course (ICDL), an internationally recognised computer certificate, the Acting Director of the centre, Hj Awg Yussof bin Hj Awg Mohamad, said in his welcoming note.
He added that there are three significant reasons to choose the IC³ Training programme namely: it improves employee productivity, strengthens employee confidence and validates computer skills for new employees.
The centre, which is among seven institutions and countries honoured in Florida, USA, received the "2007 Champion of Digital Literacy Award" on July 21, 2007, awarded by Certiport PATHWAY (US).
A global, standard-based certification programme for basic computing and Internet literacy that consists of integrated assessment and learning experiences, the IC³ programme is intended to help learn and demonstrate computer and internet literacy through a worldwide industry standard.