Passport out of IT skills maze

Passport is a web-based IT skills assessment tool. Launched by e-skills UK, it allows employers to assess the skills of their workforces, analyse IT training needs and allocate training budgets based on the IT User Skills Framework. It provides individuals with a personal record of IT experience and allows them to set improvement goals and a personal learning plan. It will also allow individuals and employers to match current skills against requirements for specific jobs.

“There are currently about 750 000 IT courses and over 5000 qualifications that employers have to assess when recruiting, or choose between when training staff”, said e-skills UK CEO Karen Price. “This has led to training inertia. Employers know they need to do something to raise their workforce’s skills but they don’t know where to start. Passport will become the link between the need for IT skills and the implementation of IT training. We believe it will become the de facto standard for IT user skills improvement.”