IT managers know better than anyone about skills gaps. E-Skills NTO
wants the benefit of that expertise and your input in planning for
future training needs in networks and telecoms. Bill Goodwin
reports
Computer Weekly readers are being urged to have their say in the
development of the UK's first national training plan for telecoms
and network professionals.
The plan, which has the backing of employers, government,
universities and training organisations, is the first systematic
attempt to tackle underlying weaknesses in training and education
in telecoms and networking technology in UK.
The first draft of the three-year plan, published for consultation
this month, called on employers, government, and educators to work
together to ensure that the employers have access to a workforce
with the skills they need to keep UK businesses competitive.
The E-Skills NTO, the public/private sector body responsible for
developing the skills of the IT workforce, is seeking the views of
Computer Weekly readers on more than 20 proposals designed to
bridge long-term skills gaps in the UK.
The plan will form the basis of government training policy for
telecoms and networking and will influence the work conducted by
the learning and skills councils, and regional development
agencies.
Employers such as IT consultancy Accenture, which is backing the
E-Skills NTO's proposals, argue that a strategic plan for telecoms
and network training is essential if the UK is to remain
competitive.
"If you look at Britain compared to other countries we have been
less centralised and organised in how we approach the development
of tech skills than France or Germany," said partner Paul
Crooks.
"The people side is much harder than the technology side. Finding
people who are skilled can delay capturing what might be ephemeral
advantages in market. You need the people there with the breadth of
skills and flexibility to develop solutions quickly."
Although demand for telecoms and network staff has slumped to its
lowest level since the early 1990s, the UK is suffering from
underlying telecoms and networking skills shortages that will
resurface once the recovery begins. Within the next 12 to 18
months, employers may find themselves urgently needing large
numbers of staff with skills in project management, systems
integration, network management, and an understanding of business
issues, the draft report for the E-Skills NTO predicted.
At the same time, the take-up of new technologies, such as
broadband and 3G mobile phones, and the growing convergence between
telecoms and IT, means that IT and telecoms professionals will need
to learn new skills.
Network engineers will need re-training to understand IP-based
networks. Telecoms professionals will need to understand the
principles of networking and hardware and software. More IT staff
will need to have telecoms experience and expertise in wireless
networking and radio frequency engineering.
At present the UK is ill-prepared to meet these training
challenges. There is little co-ordination between employers,
universities and training companies. Despite the predicted
shortages of skilled staff, many employers are not doing enough to
make networking and telecoms attractive to women and young
people.
The E-Skills NTO's strategic plan aims to tackle these problems by
encouraging employers, government and the universities to work
together to respond quickly to changing skills needs.
If employers are prepared to lend their time and support to a
strategic plan, the Government will respond with funding, said
Karen Price, the E-Skills NTO chief executive. "It's the collective
effort in everybody working towards the same thing that makes a
difference."
One of the key proposals of the plan is a regular forecasting
exercise that will identify the telecoms and network skills that
will be needed by employers in the future. The results of the
forecast will influence the training offered by universities,
colleges and employers themselves, through the modern
apprenticeship and graduate apprenticeship schemes.
The plan also contains proposals to encourage more young people
into telecoms and networking, including a country-wide campaign to
improve the image of careers in telecoms, coupled with competitions
and work experience programmes for school children.
One proposal expected to gain support from employers is the
development of recognised professional qualification for telecoms
and network professionals. Such qualifications could give employers
a guide to the capabilities of job candidates and give the
candidates targets to aim for.
Most importantly, the plan aims to ensure that there will always be
a pool of skilled professionals with the qualifications that
businesses need to develop their network and telecoms services,
said Maddie Reed, consultant at E-Skills NTO.
"Employers recognise that having the right people with the right
skills is going to be critical when they are turning around their
industry," said Reed.
"Although companies might be a bit more cautious in the speed they
implement projects, they will still need people to deliver them,"
she concluded.
Draft strategic plan: key action points
Regular
forecast of future skills needed by employers
Identify regional gaps in availability of telecoms and network
skills
Run a UK-wide campaign to promote careers in telecoms
Promote work experience programmes and competitions to encourage
young people
Publish a training directory to help employers
Develop foundation degrees and graduate apprenticeships
Set up programmes to ensure that universities, colleges and
training organisations keep courses up to date
Encourage universities to offer telecoms and network qualifications
for working professionals
Create schemes to encourage employers to sponsor colleges and
universities
Assess demand for recognised professional qualification for
telecoms and network professionals
Review national occupational standards to reflect the convergence
of IT and telcoms
E-Skills NTO to accredit in-house and external training programmes,
training centres and materials
Promote telecoms qualifications, modern and graduate
apprenticeships
Introduce programmes to encourage online training
Create an employers' forum to support training standards,
accreditation and modern apprenticeships
Publicise examples of good training practice
For a full copy of the plan visit
www.e-skillsnto.org.uk/telecoms/
Computer Weekly readers influence UK IT training policy
More than 100 Computer Weekly readers, including interested
individuals and employers, contacted the E-Skills NTO last year,
with comments and offers to help the organisation develop a £15m
strategic plan for IT training in the UK.
Your views helped the organization to develop a plan that has won
widespread support and recognition from central government, the
learning and skills councils and the regional development
agencies.
According to Karen Price, chief executive of the E-Skills NTO, the
feedback from Computer Weekly readers played a critical role in
developing the plan which aims to tackle the cyclical skills
shortages which have dogged the IT profession since the
1960s.
The strategic plan is influencing IT training programmes throughout
the UK. Regional development agencies are incorporating it
recommendations into their own strategic plans, and topping up the
£15m in central funds, with millions of pounds in local funding for
IT training. The Learning and Skills Councils are also using the
plan as the basis of their IT training work.
Have your say
The E-Skills NTO wants to know what
Computer Weekly's readers would like to see in the plan. The views
collected will be incorporated into a new version of the plan that
will influence training in telecoms and network skills in
government and the private sector for the next three years.
- What are you skills and training priorities in telecoms and
networking?
- Is there anything missing from the strategic plan?
- Does the plan contain anything inappropriate?
- What other comments and suggestions do you have?
Send your comments to:
maddie.reed@e-skillsnto.org.uk
or visit
www.e-skillsnto.org.uk/
before 25 January 2002.