IT has always been a great, vibrant area to work in and
continues to be so, despite the difficulties in the market, says
Karen Price.
IT is all about developing new ideas, products and
concepts and realising them to improve employees' working lives, as
well as providing convenience to users when they are out of the
office. Technology surrounds us and opens up new opportunities, so
it has always puzzled me that some people see IT as a "geeky"
environment to work in - a place where creativity is
non-existent.
I struggle to see the industry in this light and I am pleased to
see that the image problem that has been associated with IT in the
past is gradually beginning to evaporate.
Unfortunately, the lack of women in the IT sector continues to be a
problem and only about 20% of the IT workforce is female. E-Skills
UK has met regularly with employers to address this issue, and
hosts the annual Women in IT conference, in conjunction with
Intellect, to address the disproportionate number of males to
females in the IT industry.
This year's event showed that programmes aimed at enthusing girls
in IT have really begun to hit home. A number of participants from
Computer Clubs for Girls (an E-Skills UK programme that aims to
help more young girls understand the career options that IT can
provide them) attended the conference to talk about what they like
about technology.
The industry has a number of hurdles that it needs to overcome if
it is to attract a more diverse workforce. The current situation,
where women are leaving the industry faster than we can recruit
them, is making it very difficult to improve the proportion of
women.
Although more than 33% of new entrants to the industry are female,
just over 20% of the total workforce are female. Employers need to
strive to offer employees a more manageable work/life balance and
already there are a number of employers that offer flexible working
hours and arrangements that allow parents to pursue a fulfilling
family and working life.
It is imperative that we continue to improve the pipeline of
skilled IT professionals from all backgrounds for the long term,
while simultaneously ensuring that we concentrate on business
skills. The UK has always had great technological minds and we need
to hone and develop our leadership skills in tandem, to strengthen
our commercial outlook.
Despite the challenges faced by the IT sector, the industry is
making progress in communicating the dynamic and exciting career
options on offer. Employers widely encourage gender and ethnic
diversity in the workplace. However, the challenge will be to
ensure that we can offer employees roles where they can work to
live and not live to work.
E-Skills UK applauds Computer Weekly's Best Places to Work in IT
2003 survey, as it will provide a forum to showcase some of the
most exciting industry roles available to both newcomers and
seasoned IT professionals.
What do you think?
How can the IT industry attract more
women? Tell us in an e-mail >> CW360.com
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Karen Price is chief executive of government
training body E-Skills UK