Mature employees get free IT training

Citation

(2002), "Mature employees get free IT training", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 26 No. 8. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeit.2002.00326hab.006

Mature employees get free IT training

Mature employees get free IT training

The European Social Fund has provided some £2 million to help older employees of London's small businesses to get up to date with computer skills.

The two-year Mature People into Information Technology (Mapit) project provides free training to employees aged over 40. It involves a team of London colleges and universities, headed by Thames Valley University, and e-skills UK, the new name for the e-skills national training organization.

"A massive 90 per cent of London businesses have fewer than 25 employees," said Peter Kayes, of Thames Valley University. "Traditionally, a high proportion of small and medium-size firms have a workforce that has grown with the company. While their experience and loyalty are invaluable, their lack of the IT skills that most young people automatically acquire could be holding them back."

John O'Sullivan, of e-skills UK, explained: "A large number of IT companies in London are small and medium-size firms and, despite current difficulties, there is still a chronic, long-term skill shortage in this industry. With an ageing population, the education system alone will not provide an adequate number of skilled people. With the proper IT training, however, older people could easily fill this gap."

The training available includes the European Computer Driving Licence, personal-computer usage, e-business and digital entrepreneurship, and networking. Most courses lead to a formal qualification.

More information is available on +44 20 8231 2210, or by e-mailing mapit@tvu.ac.uk.