The Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) and the Computer Society of Sweden (Dataforeningen) have signed an agreement which will give all 1.9 million members of the LO the opportunity to get ECDL certified.

LO is the central organisation in Sweden for 16 affiliates which organise workers within both the private and the public sectors. The member trade unions together have about 1.9 million members; all 16 affiliates will receive computer training within the framework of LO’s IT schools.

“Competence is very important for all our members,” said LO’s Roger Svensson, who is the project manager for the IT school. “The members of LO don’t traditionally use computers in work and might not get this kind of training from their employer. This is one of the reasons LO now would like to give them the opportunity to get ECDL certified. Another important reason for choosing the ECDL for this project is that it is a well-known certification in Sweden and widely accepted among employers as a level of IT knowledge.”

LO is responsible for co-ordinating a wide range of matters for its members, including wage bargaining, labour market insurance schemes, international activities, trade union education, education for children and young people, equality of the sexes and social security. The 16 affiliates of LO have independent status, and LO is primarily an organisation for co-ordination, research and creating public opinion at central and regional levels. The adoption of ECDL marks an important new development for the organisation’s members.

“Our members would like to learn something that could be useful in their current position or when they are looking for a new job. We always evaluate which standards and certifications are the most widespread and popular before we sign this kind of contract – we are not interested in making up our own standards or creating a new certification,” said Svensson.

Sweden was a founding member of the ECDL Task Force and carried out pilot testing on the original Finnish model in 1996. Since its launch in August of that year, the Swedish ECDL organisation has achieved significant success, and Sweden boasts one of the highest numbers of candidates for all countries participating in the programme.

“We will be able to reach out to groups of people that haven’t been able to access the advantages of ECDL before this agreement,” said Anna Svartbo, who is responsible for marketing and sales at ECDL Sweden. “ECDL is well established within the business world and we are now in the middle of an expansion into new areas within industry, public administration and education.”