Swedish Social Security Administration RFV -
Saving time and money by assuring user IT skills

Birgitta Gustafsson, IT Director for the Social Insurance Administration in Sweden, uses web based testing to assure the IT skills of 13,000 employees.

Assuring basic user IT skills saves money at RFV

The National Social Insurance Board in Sweden has over 13 000 employees all over Sweden. A small-scale pilot project, with only a few social security offices involved, indicated that skills in general were insufficient to reach the standards set by the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL).

"At this moment, all of our employees use Enlight to take the ECDL tests. Based on the results, each region creates an education plan to fit each individuals personal need. To make sure we have reached our goal, the tests will be conducted once again after the training has taken place. Our employees have a very positive attitude towards education and the possibility of certifying their skills," says Birgitta Gustafsson.

The Challenge

"The National Social Insurance Board, which includes the Swedish Social Security Administration, is a large organization. We have more than 13.000 employees and are represented in every Swedish region.

We were aware of the fact that we needed to enhance the IT skills among our staff. A small-scale pilot project, with only a few social security offices involved, indicated that skills in general were insufficient to reach the standards set by the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL). Since the adoption of the ECDL was one of our long-term ambitions, we needed to take action. But before doing so, we were confronted with a few fundamental questions. What was the extent to which we needed to act? In which IT areas? What kind of educational efforts were going to be needed?"

The Solution

"In search of answers to these questions, we contacted Enlight regarding the Enlight platform. We choose to cooperate with Enlight for two main reasons. First, we concluded that their tests were outstandingly designed and the questions were thoroughly outlined. Second, we realized that Enlight was one of very few companies who could handle our very complex technical systems.

At this moment, all of our employees use Enlight to conduct the ECDL tests. Based on the results, each region creates an education plan to fit each individuals personal need. To make sure we have reached our goal, the tests will be conducted once again after the training has taken place. Individuals who fail to reach the desired level are of course given a chance to conduct additional training. Our final ambition is that all of our employees become ECDL certified.

The test set includes general IT-skills, Word, Windows and network services, as well as specific tests tailored to our social security administration. Tests in Excel, PowerPoint and Access are also available for those who would like to check abilities in these fields.

Our employees have easy access to the tests as they can be taken using the Enlight platform via the National Social Insurance Board Intranet. This platform takes full care of all the results and gives us an easy to use administrative tool. Without this technological aid, it would be impossible for us to conduct the testing throughout our very large organization."

The Results

"Our employees have a very positive attitude towards education and the possibility of certifying their skills. The certificate can also be used outside of our organization.

Initially, there were some individuals who did not approve to the idea and thought they did not need new skills. After participating in the test program, most of them have changed their minds. We look at skills tests as a way for our employees to enhance their competence and become more efficient and effective in their profession. This will take our entire organization forward."