IT training providers: The 2008 Worldwide Competition in Microsoft Office has begun!

Somewhere in South Africa, an academic training provider has the next Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel Specialist World Champion quietly studying, about to put their organisation in the spotlight.

These students are preparing for the 2008 Worldwide Competition in Microsoft Office, which is presented by Certiport globally and supported by Intersoft in South Africa.

This annual event is a wonderful opportunity to distinguish your organisation and promote it for years to come. Online promotional resources are available to organisations so that you can encourage your learners to compete, as well as create awareness of the 2008 Microsoft Worldwide Competition and the opportunities that it offers them.

If you offer Certiprep, you already have an edge in that your students can practise their knowledge in a Microsoft exam simulated environment.

The 2008 Worldwide Competition in Microsoft Office is in its sixth year and growing strongly. Over 100 000 participants in 128 countries are expected to compete for the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) title in two categories, Microsoft Word 2003 and Microsoft Excel 2003. As long as your students are 14 years and older, they can compete by taking an eligible Microsoft Office certification exam at a Certiport Testing Centre.

If one or two of your learners become champion finalists (one in Microsoft Word and the other in Microsoft Excel), they and other champions from each competing country or region will receive an all-expense-paid trip to compete at the 2008 Microsoft Worldwide Championships in the US.

The World Champion winners who emerge from those finalists will receive an Microsoft Xbox with US$2 000 worth of games, a Dell computer laptop with keyboard, mouse and Microsoft software, an HP colour printer and, of course, the Microsoft World Champion Trophy. The Grand Prize Total Technology Kit is valued at US$6 500.

One of the great things about this competition is that all students emerge as winners when they pass their MOS exams - not only do they become internationally certified as a specialist in their module, they also can use their new skills to do their current tasks efficiently and effectively, saving time and looking good!

Do you want to put your organisation on the map? Find out more by calling Intersoft on 011 325 2643 or visiting http://www.officecompetition.com for more details, student registering, the official rules, promotional resources and to learn more about the approved exams. Good luck to all our South African competitors - may you be the ones to bring home the gold!