ECDL-certified competency in basic computer skills can help reduce running costs for businesses, according to the results of a major new survey.

The wide-ranging study, “Cost of Ignorance in the Information Society,” was written by researchers from the SDA Bocconi University in Milan. It discovered that Italian workers waste an average of 16 days per year on computer problems, costing the country’s economy EUR15 billion annually. But the researchers also discovered that basic ECDL preparation can help slash this cost of computer ignorance by dramatically increasing the efficiency of staff who use computers.

The researchers defined “computer ignorance” as the economic impact of a delay in ensuring that a workforce is computer literate. A main aim of the study was to quantitatively assess the cost which computer ignorance can have on companies and the Italian economy. In a telling insight, it was discovered that 70 percent of time lost on computer problems relates to applications included in training that prepares learners for ECDL certification.

As part of their research, the analysts assessed the computer skills of about 200 people, composed of Bocconi university students and employees of medium and large companies. The participants took the same test before and after completing a preparatory course for obtaining the ECDL. The improvements in individual productivity were notable, ranging between 20 and 40 percent, depending on the initial level of skill.

The researchers also found that the computer literacy problem varies on the basis of the size of the organisation, company or public body. The most critical areas, noted the study, are Italy’s small and medium enterprises where the economic constraints are tighter, but where there are also cultural barriers to overcome.

“The results of the research are revealing,” said David Carpenter, CEO of ECDL-F. “They offer further proof that while a lack of core computer skills can impact a nation’s economy, training that leads to ECDL certification offers a clear solution.”

The researchers said that although one out of two people in the working population in Italy uses a computer in the workplace, only 18 percent of the workforce has received basic training, compared with an overall European figure of 27 percent.

Franco Filippazzi, ECDL Programme Manager for Associazione Italiana per l’Informatica ed il Calcolo Automatico (AICA – the ECDL licensee for Italy), noted that the increasing popularity of the ECDL is helping address this skills gap. Following an agreement with the Ministry of Education and the Headmasters Organisation of Italian Universities, most first-year university students will undertake the ECDL, a development expected to lead to a sharp increase in core computer skills throughout the Italian workforce.