The ICT Advanced-User SIZ Diploma is not federally recognized, but is highly valued and recommended by many business associations, employers and schools, including the Swiss Business Association for Information, Communication and Organization Technology (swico), the Swiss Employers' Association (SAV), the Swiss Commercial Association (kfmv) and the Swiss Trade Association (sgv).

The SIZ Advanced User course is a Swiss certificate that certifies your professional PC user skills:

• a good and comprehensive education as well as practical experience in computer science applications
• Use and utilize PCs as an efficient work tool
• Good knowledge of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Windows and cloud computing
• Create professional documents, complex calculations, well-founded evaluations and effective presentations
• Provide the management with a pointed basis for decision-making or statistical data
• Master the computer and important functions of the operating system
• Efficient internet research
• Use of new media apps and groupware
• Various options for publishing your professional profile, including risk assessment

The next higher Swiss IT certificate after the Advanced User is the Power User. This is a diploma with various specializations:

• Office - for the clever user of Office software
• Web - for creative people with innovative solutions
• Systems & Network - for PC technicians with ambitions

As an advanced student, you learn the following at Informatik SIZ:

• professional PC user skills
• Specific qualifications and skills for secondary school, school, private life or work
• a good and comprehensive education as well as practical experience in the application of computer science
• be able to use and utilize the PC as an efficient work tool

The advantages of the SIZ certificate are as follows:

• Real added value through acceptance and value retention of the SIZ diplomas for every apprenticeship or course of study
• Pursue a practical and action-oriented approach
• Are tailor-made for our school and education system
• Standard in user computer science training due to distribution volume and good reputation
• Competitive advantage when applying for a job
• Demanded and supported by the economy
• Capable of acting as a contact person or hub between users and specialists
• SIZ diploma program promotes gradual development
• Unique digital platform for training and exam preparation as well as communication exchange

There are no special requirements for participants in an ICT Advanced User SIZ course and the subsequent diploma examination. A command of the German language, keyboarding and basic PC user skills are required.

The examination for the ICT Advanced User SIZ Diploma consists of four module examinations: Communication, Presentation, Texts and Tables. The latter two modules can be taken with both a commercial and a grammar school orientation. Most of the exams are taken electronically.

During the ICT Advanced User SIZ Diploma training, participants acquire extensive skills in the personalization and use of ICT devices and software, the efficient use of installed software and apps, the secure handling of files and resources, the use of ICT devices on the network and resources within a cloud, data security and data protection, searching for information on the network, the use of groupware, the preparation and creation of presentations individually and in a team and their implementation. They are also familiar with the creation, editing and design of documents and the creation and formatting of tables, as well as the integration of formulas and illustrations, the use of text and document templates, mail merge, the use of dynamic elements in a document and the use of references and citations. Furthermore, ICT Advanced User SIZ graduates are familiar with spreadsheets, calculations and evaluations, diagrams, data exchange and data evaluations and are able to use them.

The ICT Advanced-User SIZ diploma is recommended above all for professionals who want to learn how to use operating systems, Office and cloud computing efficiently in their professional activities, but also for apprentices, students at a business school (WMS), a commercial school (HMS), commercial apprentices and high school graduates who want to significantly improve their career prospects by obtaining this diploma.

SIZ AG recommends investing 90 to 120 lessons in ICT Advanced User SIZ training. As a rule, the schools meet or exceed these requirements, so that participants usually attend a preparatory course for the diploma examination for six months to a year, depending on the intensity of the training and the school chosen.

A SIZ ICT Advanced User course costs between CHF 2,000 and 5,000, depending on the training institute, the number of participants and the number of lessons. Ask the training institute of your choice for the exact costs and the services included.