The government last week announced its support for an
employer-backed action plan to ensure that businesses have access
to the IT staff they need over the next 10
years.
The plan, dubbed the E-Skills Sector Skills Agreement, aims to make
business and project management skills a central part of IT
training and education in the UK.
By working in collaboration with government, universities, colleges
and training companies, employers will have an unprecedented
opportunity to influence the IT training agenda in the UK, said
Ruth Kelly, secretary of state for education and skills.
"For too long, employers have complained that the skills they need
in their workforce are not being provided by the education and
training system. This is a huge opportunity for businesses to
influence and work in partnership with education to create a better
skilled workforce," she said.
The Sector Skills Agreement, launched last year by public/private
training partnership E-Skills UK, is the first serious attempt to
address underlying weaknesses in the provision of skills that have
dogged the IT profession. It has won backing from leading IT users,
including Ford, British Airways, Vodafone and John Lewis. Suppliers
such as EDS and IBM, universities and IT specialists are also
supporting the initiative.
The plan recognises that employers will increasingly demand IT
professionals with good business, interpersonal and project
management skills, in addition to technical skills, as more basic
IT roles are outsourced or transferred offshore.
The government will provide funding to develop a new IT diploma and
IT degrees that combine technical training with business and
communications skills.
In addition, a network of IT academies will be created to provide
accelerated training for practicing IT professionals. They will
focus on the business and technical skills that will be needed by
employers in the future.
At the same time, universities will incorporate IT modules in
non-IT degrees, in a tacit recognition that IT will underpin every
profession. Training will also be offered to business managers to
help them understand the potential that IT offers their
businesses.
The government has also backed plans to encourage more youngsters
to take up careers in IT by providing up-to-date careers materials
to schools and encouraging more women to consider the
profession.
The Computer Clubs for Girls scheme, which aims to encourage young
women to consider IT as a career, will also be expanded nationwide
from its current membership of 3,000. It aims to reach 75,000
schoolgirls by March 2008.
A survey of 13,000 employers released with the government's skills
proposals last week revealed that 68% of organisations consider
skills development to be a high priority, but 33% do not provide
formal training.
The research found that just a 1.25% increase in the volume of
training carried out in the UK could lead to an extra 350,000
skilled workers and add an extra £10bn to the UK's GDP.
Report says UK must boost key skills
The UK needs to boost its skills in entrepreneurship, innovation
and technology if it is to become a value-added, high-productivity
economy, a report from the Learning and Skills Council last week
concluded.
UK firms will need to focus on knowledge-based activities if they
are to compete against Chinese and Indian competitors, which are
increasingly producing products and services at a lower
price.
The UK's competitiveness is improving, and the productivity gap
between the UK and its competitors is narrowing. But output per
hour is still less than France and Germany, the report said. The UK
will need to invest in better management skills, increase
investment in IT, and deploy its labour force more effectively if
it is to catch up.
Workers with information skills and skills in dealing with
customers will become increasingly important, so that firms can
deliver goods and services tailored to the needs of their customers
more effectively, and generate new business, the report said.