How IT literate does a person need to be to get a job?

lostinrates

At school we did an associated examining board certificate in ''Basic computer awareness''. I can basically turn a computer on. despite holding this cert I can only do the real basics. I can't operate an iPod, or set a timer on my cooker.

I can't really remember what we were meant to know or stuff. I remember a weird test in class where one of the questions the answer appeared to be to write 0 and 1 randomly, so I did. I passed, but I can only remember that because I have the cert. That whole bit is in one of my memory holes. I might have known stuff then I suppose, but never really used anything but typing/research purpose for computers till much later. AFAIK before I was ill I never used a forum or anything like it.

avantra

The painful fact is that the economy we live in is driven by IT and by information no matter what we do. I think that in 10-20 years almost any job will need some form of IT know how. The people that have even 10% of drive to improve their prospects in this world will understand this and will adapt.

To surf the net is easy enough for most even the IT challenged, from this point onward obtaining the necessary info on how to apply online for jobs is only a Google search away.

abaxas

When I was a contractor I used to use job club to apply for work. It got me out of the house and there was a huge group of other contractors (builders, welders etc etc) who used to go.

All the facilities for applying for work was there, also I found that since I was in an envoriment outside of home, I could allocated 2 hours a day into looking for my new contract.

The problem was that in 2006 they changed the rules and you had to be >12 weeks unemployed before you could do. Hence all the people who were activly looking for work couldnt go, it was left with those who were forced.

But to remain on topic, job club used to be the best way of applying for work as everything was in the same place. Phone, internet, stamps, paper, etc etc. There was no excuse not to get a job!

StevieJ

lostinrates wrote: »

I can't really remember what we were meant to know or stuff. I remember a weird test in class where one of the questions the answer appeared to be to write 0 and 1 randomly, so I did. I passed, but I can only remember that because I have the cert.

Here a refresher

http://library.thinkquest.org/3114/binary.html

lostinrates

StevieJ wrote: »

Here a refresher

http://library.thinkquest.org/3114/binary.html

Thank you. But I don't understand it. I think its a panic thing.....

adouglasmhor

lemonjelly wrote: »

However the results showed that 1% of people surveyed in 2 months had internet access available to them. That statistic really surprised me. I didn't anticipate it would be quite that low.

]
Or 99% did not have access to a pubic library or internet on tv through their cable provider. I find that hard to believe. I can believe a lot of them had not been in a library in many years though.

Davesnave

lostinrates wrote: »

Thank you. But I don't understand it. I think its a panic thing.....

Old joke, but apt in this case:

There are only 10 types of people in the world —
those who understand binary, and those who don't.:p

ninky_2

just an aside regarding your comment about people from other countries without IT skills. the other day my iranian s-i-l IM'd me on facebook. i was pretty surprised especially as facebook is currently blocked there. but basically she was using a filter to get round the block. this is someone with no access to free IT courses and a pretty basic eduation, also a SAHM on low income. she's also been nagging us to get on skype etc. it amazes me how techno-savvy the population is over there. on the other hand, my OH who has been living in the UK for a decade relies on me to help with writing up CVs and attaching to emails etc etc. he's just about worked out how to use google. i can't quite explain why this difference exists. it's puzzling me.

vivatifosi

ninky wrote: »

just an aside regarding your comment about people from other countries without IT skills. the other day my iranian s-i-l IM'd me on facebook. i was pretty surprised especially as facebook is currently blocked there. but basically she was using a filter to get round the block. this is someone with no access to free IT courses and a pretty basic eduation, also a SAHM on low income. she's also been nagging us to get on skype etc. it amazes me how techno-savvy the population is over there. on the other hand, my OH who has been living in the UK for a decade relies on me to help with writing up CVs and attaching to emails etc etc. he's just about worked out how to use google. i can't quite explain why this difference exists. it's puzzling me.

ninky I was thinking of you the other day and this very issue! There's apparently some form of software based in the States that hides Iranian web traffic so that the people there have a right to free speech. Its website is here: http://www.haystacknetwork.com/ (this para has been edited to add web address)

Incidentally, most of the people I come across from overseas who have problems with IT literacy are from either sub-Saharan Africa or the more remote parts of the former Soviet Union. Most people from Asia know more than I do, and can do it in fluent English, which is possibly an altogether different lesson for me!

vivatifosi

lemonjelly wrote: »

I think the point viva is raising, is that there is a potential underclass who could perhaps be denied the opportunities to haul themselves out of being in an underclass, owing to a combination of lack of IT skills & imo, access to IT facilities.

That's precisely my issue lemonjelly. We have a choice with developing underclasses - hand up or hand out. I'm firmly in favour of the first category. Realistically though, we can't talk about underclasses who don't do a days work and contribute nothing to society - a favourite topic here - without discussing how you do help people get a hand up.

In the past I worked in an office, surrounded by people with a reasonable level of techno-savvy and a good basic education (at the very least). I never had to deal with the public and didn't honestly know people like this existed. However they do, possibly in the hundreds of thousands. So what are we going to do about it? If we don't provide them with basic training and swallow the cost, then they will be economically inactive at a time when we need everyone possible of contributing to society to do so in order to spread the burden.