Basic IT skills scheme launched

News comes on same day as programme announced to give computers to children in 270,000 low-income households

Peter Mandelson launched the scheme

The government today announced a programme to teach basic IT skills to those in the UK who have not yet acquired them.

Over the next three months, the Online Basics course will be piloted in UK online centres in Barnsley, Oldham, Gloucester, Devon and London.

Government technology body Becta will evaluate the courses before a full roll out to further online centres in September this year.

The government recently announced a £30m investment in UK online centres – places where the public can use the internet for free.

The courses will also be free and available to all in UK online centres or at home, according to business secretary Lord Mandelson. "Online Basics will mean more people accessing vital IT skills, enhancing their working lives and making digital literacy as important a skill as basic literacy and numeracy," he said.

A government-commissioned report published last year found that 11.6 million people in Britain do not have basic IT skills such as the ability to use the internet. The government aims to get more than a million of them online in the next three years.

The courses include five key modules covering the basics, such as using a mouse and keyboard, looking at the internet and online safety.

Mandelson also announced today a doubling in size of the Technology Examplar Network for colleges and training providers, which offers them a forum for exchanging experiences, knowledge and practical know-how on education and technology. In total, two million students and 50,000 further education teachers and trainers will now use the network.

Geoff Russell, chief executive of the Learning and Skills Council, said: “The highly successful Technology Exemplar Network has promoted the unique added-value of technology in learning."

The government also announced the roll out of the Home Access programme, a scheme to give computers to children in 270,000 low-income households.