Above from Left to right: Suzanne Paton (Govan Initiative), David Saedi (Chief Executive, Certiport), Malcolm Knox (Prodigy), Elizabeth McLean (Govan Initiative).

Govan Initiative Ltd, a local economic development company tasked with regenerating the economy of the Greater Govan area in Glasgow, is using the internationally recognised Microsoft Office Specialist Programme to provide training and upskilling for its stakeholders. Managed under the Hills Trust Community Learning Academy, programmes are run through different areas of funding allowing individuals the opportunity to access learning on a full time waged option, or through a flexible learning option, depending on eligibility. The Academy offers a selection of Industry recognised training courses within the Information Technology market, which will provide individuals with the skills necessary to pursue a career in the ICT industry. Introducing the Office Specialist Programme was a key component in offering accreditations that meant something in the business world according to Master Instructor, Suzanne Paton: “Our Academy makes a difference to the people who attend the courses. It is important that we offer the very best training so that people can upskill and offer genuine skills to prospective employers. “On average, we take up to 30 people a year through all 5 Core Microsoft Office Specialist certificates in 12 weeks, some of which go on to Expert level. We had 4 Masters in 2004 alone which is a tremendous achievement,” she says. Some of the students attending the Academy have found their lives radically changed. One such example is Christine Faulds. Faulds left school at 15 due to bullying and suffered extreme panic attacks as a result. In the intervening four years she rarely left her house and was unemployed. Faulds was persuaded to attend the Academy and despite being very nervous found the coursework interesting, her classmates fun and the teaching staff supportive. As she recalls: “I never thought I would be able to succeed in anything, but after doing the Core material and passing them it gave me the confidence to try the Master level. I can’t believe how much I have gained in the past few months.” Faulds went on to earn her Microsoft Office Specialist Master certificate after passing all 7 available exams. After the course ended, the Academy arranged a placement at Sunny Govan Radio FM, part of Sunny Govan Community Media Group. Initially, it was for 3 afternoons a week but now she is full time. Other success stories include Rhona McGeoch. She joined the Microsoft Office Specialist course in August 2004 after achieving a BSc in Applied Bioscience. She had decided that she was not interested in pursuing the degree to Honours level as she was no longer keen to establish a career within this area. As she explains: “When I first approached Govan Initiative Ltd I had no idea what I wanted to do with myself, I had very low confidence in my ability to get a job and just wanted some advice but was confused about what I really wanted to do and needed some direction.” Just a few months later and McGeoch has passed Word, Excel, Access, Outlook and PowerPoint all at Core level and even achieved Word at Expert level. There is only one gap – an Excel Expert short of attaining the Microsoft Office Specialist Master certificate – and that was because she was offered a permanent job. McGeoch says she will pursue this certificate once she has settled into her new position. “There are many success stories since we first became a Microsoft IT Academy back in 2002,” says Paton. “What matters to our teaching staff is that the skills we deliver are valuable to our students. From the discipline of attending regular hours to the real computer skills learnt, we are confident that we can and do make a difference.” Ends About the Hills Trust Community Learning Academy Hills Trust Community Learning Academy was launched in April 2002 with the unveiling of Europe’s first Cisco Systems Sponsored Community Learning Centre. This project has received support by a number of organisations including Scottish Enterprise Network, Glasgow City Council, NTL, IKEA, Panduit, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and Cisco Systems. About Prodigy Prodigy is the Master Distributor of IC³ in Ireland and Scotland as well as the Microsoft Office Specialist examinations About IC³ IC³ stands for Internet and Computing Core Certification and was released globally in February 2002 by Certiport, Inc, a leading provider of global, performance-based certification programs, after a two-year development process that researched 219 computer-related, subject-matters in 19 countries. IC³ is a global, professionally validated, standards-based certification program that provides the industry proof that an individual has the essential computing knowledge and skills in today's digital economy. About the Microsoft Office Specialist Program The Microsoft Office Specialist Program is Microsoft’s official desktop certification Program, aimed at increasing customer productivity and measuring and validating users’ skills within the Microsoft Office suite of desktop applications. Deployed throughout more than 4000 testing centres around the world, Microsoft Certification enables individuals to prove their knowledge of Microsoft Office and employers to ensure a return on their investment and a reduction in their support costs. Additional information on the Microsoft Office Specialist Certification Program can be found at www.prodigyscotland.co.uk or 0870 351 3694. For more information, please contact: Malcolm Knox Prodigy 0870 351 3694 Craig Bewley Prodigy +353 1 2360424 Jillian Godsil PRG +353 55 294 55