What skills do I need?

General ICT skills

Almost every working day now starts by pressing the power button on our PC. Whether we’re checking emails, writing letters or searching websites we often take for granted some of the general ICT skills we’re using, which include:

• knowing what a computer is for and what it can do
• handling a mouse, using the keyboard and screen
• literacy, numeracy and language skills
• how to set up accessibility and usability options
• file management: working with documents and folders
• working on a network
• printing documents
• DIY troubleshooting
• routine maintenance

Specialist skills

The computer is a tool and we need to learn how to make it do what we want. We all do different jobs and develop a unique set of skills to deliver them. The exact requirements will depend on thesorts of tasks we’re doing, who we’re doing it with and how frequently we’re likely to be doing it. For example:

• desktop publishing
• budgets and spreadsheets
• producing reports
• web design
• working with images
• accessible and assistive technologies
• ICT training
• computer maintenance