ICDL Canada is the National Operator for the territory of Canada, under the authority of the ECDL Foundation, for computer use skills in Canada. The ECDL Foundation is the worldwide certifying authority of the leading international computer skills certification programs - ECDL / ICDL. The ECDL Foundation is a not-for-profit organization owned by many informatic societies and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. ECDL Foundation has established a Quality Management System based on the internationally-recognized quality standard ISO 9001: 2000. Together we support the continuous development of ICT skills through the use of structured training and certification programs.

ICDL Canada licenses and trains the Certified Testing/Administrator staff in ICDL Canada Authorized Test Centres. It provides access to on-line testing including Certification Tests and Diagnostic Tests. It works with the courseware industry to field ICDL Canada approved training materials suited to the Canadian audience. ICDL Canada works within strictly enforced Quality Assurance guidelines and audits its licensees and testing centres in their compliance with procedures and quality assurance standards.

ICDL computer use skill certification is for computer users in Canada.  Uniform qualifications in computing skills verify computer user skills in the home, office, industry and educational environments.

ICDL Canada has been established with support for the initiative endorsements from The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) and Action TI (formerly known as La Fédération de l'informatique du Québec (FIQ)).

ICDL CORE shows you what you really need to know and be able to do with computers so you will be considered competent in computer use at work or on entry to college or university.

ICDL is attainable

The ICDL is attained through a special user-friendly Skills Card, which records the skills a candidate demonstrates in each of seven computer-related modules. As the candidate passes each module successfully, the corresponding skill is noted in their card. The final achievement of a full card leads to the award of an International Computer Driving Licence.

ICDL is relevant to the workplace and higher education
The ICDL already includes approximately 9 million participants around the world. The value of the licence is recognized in both the public and private sectors for identifying essential skills in the workplace.

ICDL CORE is easy to implement
ICDL Canada and the Foundation keep the standard up to date. Syllabus, couseware and tests are updated regularly. Workload is reduced through automated testing. On-line student registration services are available for major institutions.

The CORE modules are: Concepts of Information Technology; Using the Computer and Managing Files; Word Processing; Spreadsheets; Database; Presentation; Information and Communication. They can be done in any order -- many find it easy working from the most familiar toward the less familiar.

All but the first of the modules are tests of practical skills rather than theory. Tests consist of tasks chosen at random from a store of typical day to day computer operations. The guiding principle is reality -- the licence confirms the candidate's actual skills. The standard is free of any bias towards any computer producer or software product.

ICDL CORE is complemented by e-Citizen for those needing very basic introduction to computer use and by ICDL Advanced for those wishing to attain very stong computer use skills in any of Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Database or Presentation. Advanced Certificates are given for individual modules -- attain all four ICDL Avanced Modules and you will receive the ICDL Expert Certificate.

Computer training organizations, educational institutions and employers are being accredited as Authorized Test Centres. For individuals located some distance form test centres, Custom Testing can be arranged through ICDL Canada. Testing locations utilize automated exams provided by ICDL Canada for each of the seven modules. Approved course materials are available in many forms for self-paced or instructor-led approaches to learning.

Download a copy of the brochure in English, or our brochure in French.

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