Nation-wide IT skills training aims to boost growth and jobs in Hungary
Tags: Digital literacy, workforce development
In Hungary, the ICT industry is leading an innovative national partnership with government, academic and non-profit organizations to deliver ICT skills training and boost competitiveness and growth at all levels of the economy.
Program Fast Facts
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Situation
Hungary needs to expand the ICT-readiness of its workforce to boost innovation, competitiveness and job creation.
Solution
National partnership of technology leaders to design and deliver highly effective ICT skills training, with EU funding support, for three main workforce groups.
Benefits
- In 2009-2012 the TITAN training program aims to reach 10,000 ICT specialists, 25,000 managers in small and mid-sized companies and 200,000 unskilled workers each year.
- Establishes unified accreditation and certification for workforce ICT skills.
- TITAN sets a benchmark for efficient use of EU knowledge economy development funds.
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In Hungary, information and communications technology (ICT) access and use rates are lower than the EU average, especially among people with low or no formal education and people in rural areas. Consequently Hungary has both a shortage of ICT-skilled workers and significant unemployment.
Therefore, in 2007 Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, HP, Magyar Telecom and several innovative small Hungarian companies established the HELB Foundation, a not-for-profit partnership to reduce workforce skills shortages and promote greater innovation and efficiency in the use of EU development funds for ICT skills training.
The HELB Foundation takes its name from the Hungarian EUGA Leadership Board. EUGA is the European Union Grants Advisor program, an initiative by Microsoft, HP, Intel and other partners to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and local or regional government bodies to increase their awareness and understanding of EU and national funding opportunities, and assist with the application process.
When HELB was launched, the Prime Minister of Hungary, Ferenc Gyurcsány, said : “We would like to attain the goal that tens or hundreds of thousands of Hungarian SMEs would benefit from both high-level ICT skills and digital literacy as a natural part of their everyday lives.”
HELB works closely with public sector authorities and has an Advisory Board of experts from academia, trade associations and community organizations. This multi-stakeholder character makes HELB an authoritative platform for advocacy and innovation, demonstrated by its role as Hungary’s working group for the EU e-Skills Industry Leadership Board and as the Hungarian chapter of the European Alliance on Skills for Employability. The results and best practices from HELB initiatives will be shared with the Alliance and national programs in other EU countries.
At the outset, HELB defined a new model for ICT skills training, which should respond to real-life market needs and deliver results rapidly, help to accelerate adaptation of new technologies, especially by SMEs, and train IT specialists efficiently and to high standards. As well, training quality should be subject to constant monitoring, and program tendering and administration should involve a minimum of red tape. In 2008, HELB launched its first program, TITAN, a three year US$ 250 million initiative that aims to train 10,000 ICT specialists, 25,000 managers at SME companies and 200,000 basic ICT users each year between 2009 and 2012. TITAN is based on an innovative philosophy : that effective training should be tailored to people’s existing skill level while taking them to the next level on the ‘knowledge pyramid’. Accordingly, TITAN training for basic users deploys an expanded and localized version of the Microsoft Digital Literacy Curriculum, while the SME training will use a customized curriculum being developed by HELB, and training for ICT specialists is provided by the Certified Training Centers of leading ICT companies.
TITAN is funded primarily by EU regional development grants identified and secured through the EUGA initiative, with the industry partners also contributing funding and support amounting to US $25 million over three years. Microsoft’s contribution includes chairing the HELB Foundation, donating the Hungarian language version of the Microsoft Digital Literacy Curriculum, providing discounted exam vouchers and software, and co-funding for TITAN’s expert staff. Another important innovation of TITAN is its unified approach to accreditation and certification of skill levels, with, for example, the ‘ICT Pro’ training curricula and certification process being supervised by the Hungarian Association of IT Companies.
“Microsoft’s goal is to contribute to building a digital world for everyone,” says László Drajkó, General Manager of Microsoft Hungary and Chair of HELB. “Taking IT education to all levels of society requires broad, long-term collaboration and large, specific programs such as TITAN. We also believe that truly successful digital inclusion programs must include SMEs and stimulate employment.”
“We are glad that the industry and the government in Hungary are looking forward on this project : you can certainly count on our team here in Hungary and on the industry in this very valuable program.” Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft
About HELB
HELB is a not-for-profit partnership created and operated by the Hungarian IT industry, with the main objective of supporting the highly-efficient use of IT-related development funds to create a competitive, innovative and inclusive Hungary within the European Union.
Helb’s mission is to serve the entire society by harmonizing and representing the needs and demands of the IT industry, providing guidance for IT development objectives that best serve the interests of the country, and by taking the lead in developing projects to implement such objectives.