The FIT Competencies summarize the skills that are essential to achieving digital literacy and success in an ICT-related career.

Each competency is divided into Capacities and then into Specific Outcomes.

Educators across Canada are already teaching many of these skills. But careful study of the Competencies, Capacities and Specific Outcomes will help identify what more we need to do in our classrooms to help students succeed in ICT.

In Education, we say a person is competent if they have the ability to accomplish a task successfully. Competencies are worded so an educator can identify the skills, knowledge or attitudes that are necessary if a student is to understand and be successful in tasks associated with a given area of study.

Competencies also help teachers evaluate a person’s abilities. Properly worded competencies can also be used to help a student learn and evolve into a much more successful employee or guide them into post-secondary studies that really interest them.

In Industry, we use the term capacity as a measure of ability. For a student, having the ability to complete a certain task, or make decisions relating to a certain area of study, means they have a specific capacity or expertise. The ability to be “adaptable” or “analytical” are good examples.