ECDL vs RSA and the NHS

thatoldchestnut

Hello all,

I'm looking into admin roles in the NHS, and to do a qualification to make myself more employable. A lot of their admin roles require an RSA level II/III qualification which is now defunct (replaced by OCR qualifications, which seem a bit expensive... I saw someone on here say they were quoted around £300 for the course and exam fee).

Would an ECDL qualification, which is about half the price, be a good alternative that covers all the areas the OCR one does, or is it a better idea to stick with the latter?

Many thanks for any responses.

cleopatra65

For an entry level post into the NHS, when I shortlist I'd pay equal attention to any relevant qualifications that show you have recent 'IT skills' & that you've taken the time to get yourself a qualification to help you get into the position you're applying for. The ECDL qualification is a good all-rounder. Good luck!!

FBaby

The NHS used to pay for staff to take the ECDL so I would think it is indeed recognised as a valuable qualification, but it might depend on the Trust/role.

J_i_m

The RSA may be the one quoted on the person spec, but in reality they are looking for equivalent qualifications and experience.

I'm applying for similar admin roles in the NHS, and my relevant qualications include; Level 3 diploma in Business Administration, level 2 Certificate in Business Management, A Level in Computer Science and GCSE in Office Applications, (which covers word processing, spreadsheets, databases and presentations)

I of course have other qualifications, but these are what I put at the top of my applications. I am currently recieving several invitations to interviews.. indeed I have five arranged for next week.

pmd123

agree with Cleopatra65, I'd look for evidence of continuing professional development in a candidate, and ECDL is probably as good as any for admin jobs.

I'd also advise when applying to highlight the skills you have learned in your personal statement, the number of people who miss out on interviews by not evidencing skills they would clearly have is scarily high. If the person spec asks for word, excel and access skills, state you have skills in word excel and access individually and clearly, not that you have good computer skills.

Good luck, hope it goes well.

thatoldchestnut

Thank you very much for your responses, everyone. It looks as though the ECDL might be the way to go, then. I may, if I can afford it, have a look at doing the Advanced ECDL, as although the normal ECDL looks like it'll allow me to prove what I can already do, the Advanced may give me some further knowledge and perhaps make my applications look more impressive.

polgara

Hmm...I'd say it depends on what tasks the role will be doing - ECDL is a great all-rounder - mine was paid for by my Trust many years ago. However it doesn't give you the type of skills for something like a secretarial role where the OCR would be more beneficial. Anything asking for RSA III equivalent will want advanced skills.

ohreally

thatoldchestnut wrote: »

I'm looking into admin roles in the NHS, and to do a qualification to make myself more employable. A lot of their admin roles require an RSA level II/III qualification which is now defunct (replaced by OCR qualifications, which seem a bit expensive... I saw someone on here say they were quoted around £300 for the course and exam fee).

Taking a random look at admin job profiles, shows...


"IT skills to RSA2, NVQ2 or equivalent". Band 2 profile.

"Knowledge of range of sec procedures - RSA3, NVQ3" B 2 Sec entry level.

"NVQ3, RSA3" B 4 Higher level sec profile.

gettingready

OK- I was a trainer for ECDL (among other packages) within the NHS when ECDL was "all that".

Few years ago that is. I also managed an ECDL Testing Centre for my then Trust and put a LOT of people through the exams.

Later on we have moved on to MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist). As this was then the thing to have within the NHS - so I set up, got accreditation and was training/testing on MOS.

The interesting thing was that MOS Core was much higher level than ECDL but then ECDL Advanced was much higher level than MOS Expert.

ECDL was accredited by BCS (British Computer Society) so was always very.. local so to say qualification. There was also ICDL (INternational Computer Driving License) but I did not see that taking off to be honest.

MOS - accredited by Microsoft so by all means much more valuable to be honest.

If you want to do either on the cheap - just find a Testing Centre and go for exams alone, do not pay for the course as such. If you google, you will find places that offer exams only.

I do not know where you are but in London there is a lot of them.

All the best

noelphobic

What subject do they want the RSA qualifications in? If it's typing then ECDL won't give you these skills. I have RSA 1, 2 and 3 in typing, audio typing and word processing. I sat these a good few years ago and you don't often see ads asking for RSA qualifications, although the NHS does. I also did ECDL soon after it was introduced, when there was only one level and it was much harder than the new level 1. However, as my qualification is so old I have enrolled to do the 'new' ECDL level 1.

I'm not actually looking for admin roles but had an interview this week for a completely different type of role and was surprised to be asked about my IT skills. Luckily I do have quite a few qualifications/experience in this area so think I did OK in this question - pity I can't say the same for the rest of them. :mad:

I have only paid £10 for my ECDL course and will need to pay £30 for the certification which is an absolute bargain but may not be available at that price everywhere.

thatoldchestnut

Thank you for all of your replies. I live in Manchester and have been looking for Advanced ECDL courses but an awful lot of places that I found through the BCS website just do the basic course; the only one that I found that does the Advanced one is tutor-lead, but I would prefer distance/flexible learning because I work full time.

I wonder whether I should just get the basic ECDL (up to level 2) for now and then try to get the OCR qualification after that so that I can cover a few different bases.

I've worked in a public library for a few years and although I've got an MA in Librarianship and have done an undergrad, my job is a bit light in terms of admin/clerical stuff, so if I want to get some sort of office job in the future I'd like some qualifications to say that I can do this stuff too.