It aims to increase IT literacy and encourage Bahrainis to use e-services available on the e-GA's national portal www.bahrain.bh.
The training is being offered free for Bahrainis.
The courses are in co-ordination with e-GA and the Bahrain Internet Society (BIS) and Microsoft is providing the course curriculum free of charge.
"This project is part of e-GA's capacity building initiative in general," e-GA marketing and awareness director Isa Abdulrahman told the GDN.
"It has two streams, one to address the skill requirements of government staff and the second is to bridge the national divide and equip them to use technology, especially the computer and we have a programme to teach them word processing skills."
The programme is initially being taught to 300 citizens from the five governorates.
After the pilot phase, other citizens who need the training will be invited to register for the programme, which will be taught in centres located in each of the governorates.
Mr Abdulrahman said a batch of 50 citizens in Muharraq governorate were the first to sit the training last month and another 50 would begin the programme soon.
Each of the other governorates would also put forward 50 citizens to complete the training.
Mr Abdulrahman said most Bahrainis and expatriates were computer literate but there were still some who were unskilled, mainly because they were school drop-outs or never had the opportunity to learn.
"This initiative is in line with Bahrain's Vision 2030 to have Bahrain competitive in line with other nations, so citizens have more access to technology and can have better jobs," he explained.
Mr Abdulrahman added that although the government hoped for all its citizens to become computer literate, people could be assured that even without this skill, they would still be able to take advantage of the portal.
"It's very important because we have the e-government portal, but we will also have call centres and mobile centres, so if there are some who don't use the computer they can still benefit from the portal over the phone," he said.
The training is conducted by a group of Microsoft-certified IT professionals and is based on curriculum designed by Microsoft to provide the foundation for teaching basic to intermediate technology skills in a hands-on manner.
The programme includes 18 hours of basic training in computer skills, Microsoft Office, the Internet and e-mail and eight hours of training on how to use the e-GA portal.
Mr Abdulrahman said the plan was initially to train 700 citizens but with support from the private sector, the e-GA hoped to reach into the thousands.
"We want to encourage the private sector to support this programme as part of their corporate responsibility," he said.
Microsoft Bahrain general manager Badea Isbaai said the company was happy to be an active partner in the programme to help build a knowledge-based society.
"We at Microsoft strongly believe in education and continuous development because it leads to a developed economy fortified with highly-educated and knowledgeable society that is prepared to cope with economic changes," he said.
"The programme stems from Microsoft Unlimited Potential, which provides the foundation for teaching basic to intermediate technology skills in a hands-on manner and maximise its potential."
BIS president Ahmed Al Bloushi said the initiative was an excellent idea and the society was pleased to be associated with it.
"It is directly in line with our organisation's main objectives of encouraging Internet usage among the general population and educating them on how to utilise it in a proper manner," he said.
Details of how to register for the training will be announced soon. To sponsor the initiative, contact 17388313.
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Quelle/Source: TMCnet, 01.02.2009
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