A SCHEME to improve computer skills among RAF personnel is preparing for take-off.

The training programme is being offered to all serving personnel and Ministry of Defence civil servants at RAF Leeming and RAF Fylingdales, in North Yorkshire.

A former conference room at RAF Leeming has been converted into an information technology suite and equipped with nine computers.

Caroline Hughes, of training firm ClickHere, said: "To put it in aviation terms, the computer search engines have been primed and the training is ready for take-off."

ClickHere, an IT, management and personal development training company, with centres in Billingham, Teesside, and Sheffield, has been awarded a two-year contract, initially involving 132 training days at Leeming, the RAF's Tornado F3 fighter base, and 12 at Fylingdales, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning Station.

At the end, personnel will have received training that follows the syllabus of the European Computer Driving Licence, an internationally recognised qualification equivalent to an NVQ Level 2.

Flying Officer Rob Jones, training development officer at RAF Leeming, said there was a strong demand for courses, which are designed to support staff.

He said: "The RAF, and similarly the other Services, have a long history of pioneering training, and computer use is one of the new key skills now incorporated into training at all levels and ranks.

"The training will cover the basic concepts of IT, file management, databases, word processing, spreadsheets, Internet and e-mail, and presentations."