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March 14, 2002
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NTT Com to Launch Official Internet Certificate Examination |
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| NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com) announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement with asponline Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based IT services and solutions provider, to launch the officially recognized NTT Com Internet Certificate (".com Master") Examination in Singapore on July 7, 2002. The two companies will also launch an Internet-skills training program in April to help people prepare for the test. The program is the first Japan–Singapore joint effort to be approved under the Infocomm Training Framework (ITF)1, an IT education program managed by the Singapore government's Infocomm Development Authority (iDA). The Exam will cover a variety of Internet-related skills, including setup procedures for PCs, mail readers, browsers and other applications, content development, homepage creation, construction of servers for email, websites and domains, security issues, router setup and more. Successful Examinees will receive an official certificate entitling them to the name ".com Master". Asponline will administer the training program and Exam after localizing the respective Japanese versions. NTT Com has administered the Exam twice in Japan so far. Although the Japanese test is offered at three separate levels of difficulty, asponline will base its version on the lowest level. Singapore Polytechnic2, an educational institution, will audit the quality of the program and provide technical support. The first Exam in Singapore will take place on July 7, the same day as the next-scheduled Exam in Japan. The second Exam will be held at a date to be decided in December. It is not necessary to take the training course in order to take the Exam. Demand for broad-based IT skills is growing parallel to both the progress of information technology and the increasing number of multinational corporations. Not only does the ".com Master" program enable individuals to upgrade their Internet skills, it also provides multinationals with a common yardstick for measuring the IT abilities of job candidates. This is NTT Com's first deployment of the ".com Master" program outside Japan, although it hopes eventually to expand the Exam throughout Asia and thereby raise the level of IT personnel, as well as help companies reduce their staffing and training costs while expanding the IT market in Asia. About asponline Pte Ltd
1 The Infocomm Training Framework is a framework for the IT skills and related training that all Singaporeans should possess, as determined by the iDA. Public funding is provided for ITF-related training courses, which are managed by the National InfoComm Competency Centre (NICC) under commission by the iDA and Ministry of Manpower. 2 Singapore Polytechnic is a national technical college established in 1954. The school currently has some 16,500 students, a staff of nearly 900 and more than 100,000 alumni (end December 2001). The school offers courses in engineering, business, maritime studies, biotechnology, optometry, information technology, computing and e-commerce. |
