Nearly 60% of employers believe their staff need to improve
their IT skills, according to research published today by E-skills
UK, the government/private sector partnership for IT
training.The figure, which represents an 11% increase since 2002,
highlights the growing importance of IT to businesses, despite the
general downturn in IT spending.
Better programming and IT operating skills heading the list of
employers demands, the E-skills regional gap report, which compares
demand for IT skills with supply across the UK, shows.
Despite the downturn, employers are still reporting difficulty
filling vacancies in some parts of the country, particularly the
East of England, and Yorkshire and Humberside. In contrast,
employers in the East Midlands, West Midlands and the North West
have few difficulties.
The outlook for IT employment in London and the South East is
still gloomy, as large firms continue to shed IT contractors and
reduce their permanent IT workforce.
IT employment will fall by 2% in London and 7% across the South
East as a whole over the next year, equivalent to a total loss of
some 24,000 jobs.
But prospects are brighter in the rest of the country with
Scotland, Northern Ireland, the North East, North West, Yorkshire
and Humberside and the East of England, likely to experience a
growth in employment of between 0.5% and 4%.
The report reveals that more youngsters are showing an interest
in IT as a potential career. More than 135,000 students took an
IT-related GCSE in 2001, up from 100,000 two years previously,
with more than half gaining grades A to C.
In the same year, more than 27,000 students sat an A level in
computer studies or an equivalent Scottish Higher, with more than
three-quarters of them achieving a pass. More than 80,000
candidates completed courses equivalent to NVQ proficiency
levels.
Further detailswww.e-skills.com/publications