European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) Online Course (Now ICDL)

The European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL Core) is an internationally recognised IT qualification designed to give learners the skills to use a computer confidently and effectively. The aim of this official ECDL online course is to help to improve your understanding and efficient use of computers.

The online ECDL course can also open up a variety of opportunities through the broad range of skills it provides. More information on courses that can expand your IT skills can be found on our Information Technology courses page, or alternatively, take a look at our post on refreshing your IT Skills.

The ECDL qualification is widely recognised by employers as proof of ability and competence when working with IT. This ECDL online course is designed for any novice and intermediate computer users, assumes no prior expertise, and offers a flexible working programme. As the world's leading computer skills certification, more than 14 million people have engaged with the ECDL programme in over 100 countries.

Changes to the ECDL Qualification: The ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) suite of qualifications have recently been rebranded by the British Computer Society to ICDL (International Certification of Digital Literacy). 

The ICDL qualification is taken from the ITQ (IT User Qualification) framework, which encourage learners to choose from a wide range of units at different levels but this course covers the BCS Level 2 Certificate in IT User Skills, or ICDL Core Qualification (Ofqual Qualification No. 601/8240/4) and consists of 7 separate units.

ICDL Exam Centres and Exam fees: ICDL tests need to be arranged through an ICDL testing centre and there is a fee for the BCS registration and for each ICDL test that you complete. Each testing centre sets their own prices so we advise researching testing centres and the associated costs prior to enrolling on any distance learning course if you intend to sit your ICDL exams. We are listed as a satellite centre for an ICDL testing centre who can offer online remote testing to learners, and information on requirements and exam pricing can be supplied to registered learners on request.

Please Note: The ICDL Online course is the Official course from the BCS and is designed for anyone who wants to cover the ICDL curriculum prior to sitting their exams at a registered BCS testing centre. The course is theory-based, without assessment and covers Microsoft Office 365.

The ICDL Course is also a Digital Licence, so we cannot offer cancellations or refunds once the course materials have been accessed.

We recommend that learners consider the IT Essentials Course as an alternative if they prefer practical learning. The IT Essentials Course covers Windows 10 and Microsoft Office 2019/365 software and covers the exact same subjects that are covered in the ICDL Core Qualification, but with an additional unit on Productivity in IT.

The IT Essentials Course can be used as a study guide for learners preparing for ICDL exams but the course is assignment based, so it gives learners a practical knowledge of working with the software and documents and includes full tutor support by email and it can also lead to the NCFE IT User Skills Level 2 Certificate Qualification which can be gained through the submission of coursework.

Please Note: The ECDL Online Course currently covers the use of Microsoft Office. It is possible to complete the course without a version of Microsoft Office as the course does include simulations, although we do recommend having the software available so that you can put into practice what you are learning.

There are no particular entry requirements although students should be able to comfortably use the Internet.

Supported Operating Systems:

• Microsoft Windows 10/11 (32 and 64-bit)
• Apple Mac OS (and Mac OS X) 10.5.x, 10.6.x

Please Note: Microsoft Windows is the recommend operating system when viewing this course. 

Supported Browsers:

Please use the most recent versions of Google Chrome (recommended) or Firefox.

Students may register at any time and have access to the course materials online for a 1 year period. Email support is available for the full period of your study.

The BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT) deliver a range of qualifications to help get you digitally fit for the workplace, ICDL (formally ECDL) is recognised by employers and has been taken by over 15 million people from around the globe and a recognised benchmark of digital workplace skills.

This course is designed to cover the BCS Level 2 Certificate in IT User Skills (ICDL Core Qualification).

Please Note: To complete the ICDL tests, students would need to register with and sit their tests through an authorised testing centre. We can supply information on remote testing through an ICDL testing centre partner. Please Contact Us if you require information and pricing of remote testing from our partner testing centre.

If you are arranging your own tests then we recommend contacting local test centre for availability and pricing prior to starting any course as arranging and sitting the tests is the students responsibility. You can search for testing centres through the BCS Test Centre Search Facility. This search facility is the BCS's own search facility and any queries relating to finding test centres should be made directly to the BCS on: qualifications@hq.bcs.org.uk.