IT industry association unveils a new further education certificate to counteract the decrease in computer course applicants. Jon Wilcox reports.

Global IT industry association, CompTIA, has today unveiled CompTIA Strata, described as the “UK’s first completely independent course in IT fundamentals.” The move is a bid to stem the drop in applications to computing courses, which have more than halved to 15,000 between 2001 and 2007, according to a 2008 e-skills survey.

Six primary topics are covered by CompTIA Strata, including the fundamentals of software installation and functions, IT security, compatibility issues and common errors, and the basic functions of computer hardware.

CompTIA Strata is currently working with Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR) to embed Strata into the new Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) iTQ structure, the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) for IT users. “We’ve worked in partnership with CompTIA for several years,” says John Deacon, OCR National Account Manager. “Our next project is to embed CompTIA Strata within the new QCF iTQ qualification. The QCF has opened up exciting opportunities for the IT professional industry and provides great opportunities to expand our valuable partnership.”

“Young people are digital natives,” says Matthew Poyiadgi, CompTIA’s European VP. “Making them do application-led courses turns them off – it’s the youth version of teaching your grandmother to suck eggs. Our aim is to inspire them; teaching them the foundations is a stepping stone to something more technical.”