ITQ for Life

IT user courses often attract low-skilled learners and can be used to help improve literacy and numeracy in a very accessible way. e-skills UK, as Sector Skills Council for IT and Telecoms, has worked in partnership with the DIUS and a number of other agencies to customise the ITQ qualification to the needs of the lower skilled learner. The resulting ITQ for Life at Level 1 has a larger ‘mandatory’ element in order to provide clear ways to develop literacy and numeracy skills within the programme. The ITQ mandatory component has been refined to encompass the ethos behind the ICT Skill for Life and Functional ICT. Alongside the mandatory units learners will be assessed in Literacy at Level One and Numeracy at Entry Three.

We have identified and analysed the literacy and numeracy skills gaps not covered by the current National Occupational Standards for IT users and the ITQ qualification, and are devising creative ways of incorporating both the delivery and assessment of Skills for Life into a revised set of NOS and ITQ frameworks. The new ITQ for Life qualification will be piloted in Autumn 2008 for full availability from August 2009. 

Invitation to join pilot programme

We now seek to identify training providers who wish to take part in the pilot programme. The purpose of the pilot will be to:

1. Validate newly developed QCF Units prior to general release;
2. Trial the ITQ for Life course structure, content and assessment scenarios;
3. Review and test new ITQ for Life learning and teaching resources;
4. Establish centres who will take a lead in subsequent roll out and implementation.

Register your interest in piloting ITQ for Life

Applicants are invited initially to undertake a short CPD programme in preparation for joining the pilot.

Last modified: 03 Jun 2008