How much IT skill training do we need
People who provide computer training will do their utmost to convince you that, it is near impossible to survive without having up to date computer skills. It is important for us to examine the truth of this statement for ourselves.
There are many things a computer will not do for you, it will not bring you a cup of tea in bed in the morning, it will not cook the dinner, it won’t clean the dishes or more importantly look after your health, it can sit and listen to you, indeed it will allow you to express your opinion to thousands and potentially millions of people, but it will not give you the satisfaction of having shared something with a close friend.
The lives people lived through the various ages, over a number of millennia, have a central thread in common, human life needs to be sustained: the ages were distinguished by the tools people used to carry out the tasks of eating, sleeping, communicating, health management, working and travelling.
In the Information Age, people use computers to access and share and information with others who also use computers. This requires computer skills. People in Irish society vary from luddites who believe that modern day computing with its apps for everything are an unnecessary waste of time and money to people who will not make a decision in any matter without consulting various opinions using their computer or smartphone.
The luddites of the industrial revolution did their best to deny the benefits of the machinery that was central to the Industrial revolution. In Nottinghamshire, groups of textile workers, in the name of a mythical figure called Ned Ludd, destroyed knitting machines, to which they attributed the prevailing unemployment and low wages.
Computers have provided access to information that hitherto was only dreamed of, they have connected people in a way that seemed impossible only 20 years ago, you only have to consider the cost of phone calls to America in the eighties as against the free facility provided by Skype.
The Foundation which developed the ECDL computer skills courses state that “Computers and the Internet are an essential part of everyday life. People who lack the skills to use computers and the Internet miss out on a valuable resource and run the risk of being left behind. “
So when people say you have to have computer skills, what they basically are saying is you really do not want to miss the opportunities to access information and the ability to connect and share with others that computers can bring to your life.
