In a very basic sense, communication is information, or rather, it is act of conveying desired information, desired answers. The ECo-C is, in this sense, very much about showing people how to find answers and reach conclusions. This is never more important than when one receives questions such as the following:

“I cannot find the ECo-C in the Austrian training database [weiterbildung.at]; what does that mean?“
(By Anonymous reader)

We would like to dedicate this particular article to answering that question:

Firstly, you are quite right; the ECo-C should be in the Austrian training database, because, as indicated by the adjacent map, ECo-C training and/or testing is offered at 29 different training centres in 11 Austrian cities, and can be sponsored by the Austrian Federal Employment Service, the AMS.

Yet, the problem reported here is not really the non-inclusion of the ECo-C in the database, as much as the difficulty experienced by a user who is trying to find it: a search by acronym suggests that there is no “ECo-C Ausbildung” in there. However, a search for the “European Communication Certificate” will yield as many results as there are scheduled classes. In essence, this is a communication issue: when it comes down to individuals sitting in front of their computers, it is very easy to forget the audience, the user, the other, even when trying to create a searchable database. However, in this instance, the full name of the certificate was more important.

It stands to reason that a person that visits eco-c.eu would not try to get ECo-C related information on weiterbildung.at. That database is meant to help people get an encompassing view of the training programs offered in Austria, and enable them to select the one that suits them. By contrast, our site is for the initiates, the cognoscenti who already know that “ECo-C” stands for „European Communication Certificate“. These are people who will look here, and on our Austrian website, www.eco-c.at, for information.

But for the others, for the average jobseeker who wishes to acquire some social and personal skills, the words “European Communication Certificate” truly say it all, translating both the reach and the purpose of the proposed course.