Not too late to get computer savvy

By VIKKI BLAND

There's no such thing as a free lunch - so the saying goes. So in an industry known for its high training costs, do free computing courses help people get IT-related jobs or are they just useful for increasing the nation's computer literacy?

Both, says Suzanne Snively, a partner with PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PWC.)

This year PWC surveyed several thousand free computer course participants and found job seekers were more likely to get a job and be better paid as a result of doing a course.

PWC found 4529 of the course participants had not used a computer previously and 6235 were new to the internet.

It also found 77 per cent had increased IT confidence and 68.9 per cent felt the course improved their employment prospects.

"Most people who take the course have been disengaged from the education environment since secondary school," says Snively.

Unsurprisingly, people on low incomes use free computer courses to help them to secure better jobs.

"One Wanganui woman told us she got a job in a government department as a direct result of completing our Free and Easy course," says Debra Maddocks, programme leader for community and further education at the Universal College of Learning (Ucol).

Maddocks says Ucol works closely with Work and Income, and this year enrolled more than 14,000 people in Free and Easy.

So where's the catch? No catch, says Elspeth Mount, group manager of community learning for the Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT).

"People always ask that. When they realise there isn't one, they're so happy to learn in an environment that doesn't make them feel foolish."

MIT oversees two free computing courses, Key4Free and FreeB, which this year attracted more than 44,000 participants.

Similar courses are available through tertiary providers including Otago Polytechnic, the Christchurch Polytechnic, the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand and Ucol.

Programmes are tailored to individual needs and students learn at their own pace with the help of on-site tutors. Centres are open seven days a week and students can attend when it suits them. Because the centres need to be accessible you'll find them in polytechnics, schools, shopping centres, stores, even malls.

Courses typically cover basic computer orientation, using the internet and email, and proficiency in Microsoft Office products - word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and desktop publishing software.

MIT's Mount says although free computer courses can compete with commercial courses they are still two distinct markets.

"With free courses, people come in, we talk to them about what they already know and find out what they want to get out of the course. But their work is not assessed, so the course can't provide the scope or resources of commercial training."

A partnership between the Tertiary Accord of New Zealand, which comprises the major polytechnics mentioned and The Warehouse is extending the reach of free computer education.

"Warehouse Stationery leases us computers and gives us space to run Key4Free courses," says Mount. "We also get government funding under the community funding budget."

She says the end result of taking a free course depends on individual talent and the reason a person has for doing the course.

Mount knows of people who have been assessed by employment agencies after completing the course and rated with an intermediate level of skill in Microsoft Word and Excel.

"Not only does that satisfy the person who took the course, it is also a very satisfactory basis for employment in positions that require an element of computer knowledge."

Free courses

* To enrol you must be 16 or older and a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident

* Training centres are open seven days a week. To find out where to go, check the following websites: Auckland www.manukau.ac.nz; lower half of the North Island www.ucol.ac.nz; countrywide www.openpolytechnic.ac.nz

* Depending on your starting knowledge, you can learn how to tell one end of a computer from the other; how to use email; how to use the internet; how to use or improve your skills on a Microsoft Office program such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Publisher