Subscribe
  • Home
  • /
  • Channel
  • /
  • TeckChek secures IT skills assessment contract with CTI

TeckChek secures IT skills assessment contract with CTI


Johannesburg, 03 Apr 2002

TeckChek SA, a value-added reseller for e-learning company Learning Resources, has renewed its skills assessment contract with global IT training provider CTI (Computer Training Institute). The company provides CTI students with objective technical skills assessment using its online IT skills testing methodology, TeckChek.

CTI has an online campus and 10 physical campuses around the country and is backed by a courseware development team which ensures that courses are regularly updated. Technological developments and market demands are constantly tracked to maximise employment opportunities for graduates.

All diploma courses are validated by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. CTI graduates currently constitute almost half of the IT professionals entering the South African IT industry annually.

Says Justin du Plessis, MD of TeckChek SA: "Objective IT skills measurement is critical to understanding whether or not potential employees can apply their knowledge and what their strengths and weaknesses within that subject are. It`s even more important for recent graduates who often have difficulty finding employment due to a perceived lack of experience.

"CTI provides students with a wide theoretical base, and extensive practical experience. The average CTI graduate therefore rates as the equivalent of an individual with two to three years` practical experience after less than one year`s study. The TeckChek test verifies students` level of equivalent true experience and helps CTI meet its commitment to placement assistance for its diploma graduates."

Du Plessis adds that the CTI contract is in line with TeckChek`s strategy to work in conjunction with selected partners in the local recruitment and training arenas. The deal was signed in December last year to ensure that students would have access to the exams from the beginning of 2002. More than 2 000 students are expected to take various tests this year, significantly increasing TeckChek`s user base.

"TeckChek gives CTI a competitive advantage," says Magda Ross, CTI account manager. "While there is a major IT skills shortage in the country, many IT graduates are not hired because they have no experience. A TeckChek assessment can identify and measure students` actual ability by equating it to work experience, often proving that students with insight can offer their employers the equivalent of several years` work experience. Because we emphasise placement, it`s a major advantage for us to be able to reassure prospective employers about our students` ability to apply themselves."

Students can take as many TeckChek examinations as they wish to add to their CVs. The first examination is offered free of charge by CTI, while a small fee has to be paid for each additional topic. "Because we believe in the potential of these assessments to contribute to the development of IT skills in the country, CTI and TeckChek have agreed to subsidise the cost of the tests to the students," says Du Plessis.

He notes that TeckChek is becoming an industry standard in SA with many large companies - including Liberty Group, Discovery Health and the Absa Group - seldom recruiting IT staff unless they have undergone a TeckChek assessment.

TechChek uses adaptive testing methodologies to select questions with a specific level of difficulty based on previous responses, adapting question selection according to the respondent`s abilities and eliminating questions that are too easy or too difficult.

"It`s the most effective means of insight-based testing," says Du Plessis. "The responses provide the testing engine with the information it needs to deliver only those questions that are appropriate for individual abilities, raising or lowering the bar as necessary."

TeckChek questions are practically based, and are geared to measure the test-taker`s insight when solving problems. The multiple-choice questions cover over 160 topics including C++, Java, Visual Basic, PC Technical Support, Project Management, MS Excel and HTML. All technologies are broken down into a further 12 to 18 sub-topics, allowing each to be independently evaluated and identified as a specific strength, weakness or proficiency.

"TeckChek`s value lies in the interpretation of results," says Du Plessis. "It identifies the gap between theory and understanding and clearly shows areas of strength. The content of the tests is developed by a team of the world`s top experts in each subject, so test-takers are being pitted against the best."

Share

Editorial contacts