The UK is facing a shortage of skilled IT professionals
following a sharp decline in the number of graduates studying the
subject at university, an industry report has warned.
Over the past five years, the number of students studying IT has
halved to 20,000 a year - far short of the 150,000 new entries
needed by businesses.
The report, by Lancaster University Management School, the
British Computer Society, and Microsoft, warns that without
concerted action, the UK risks losing its position as a leading
software development centre.
“The UK faces an acute and growing shortage of high-end skills.
But there is an opportunity to confirm the UK as a creative hub,”
said Matthew Bishop, senior director of Microsoft’s platform
group.
New research by the group, reveals that software development in
in-house IT departments and UK based suppliers contributes more
than £20bn a year to the UK economy, far higher than previously
thought.
Some £12bn comes from software developed by in-house IT
departments for use within their own companies, a figure which has
been ignored in government statistics. Within ten years, internal
software development by IT departments could account for 1.5% of UK
GDP, it predicts.
Employers, universities and the government will need to
collaborate to improve the image of IT, if suppliers and IT
departments are to find the staff they need in the UK, the report
warns.
Around 102,000 IT and software jobs, equivalent to 12% of the
total IT workforce, will have been transferred from the UK overseas
by 2010. And more companies could be force to look offshore, if the
skills supply is not addressed in the UK.
“We are in danger if we don’t sort this out of slipping ground,
and squandering our own heritage for producing good- quality,
innovative students. If we don’t get the skilled people, companies
will move abroad,” said Bola Rotibi, senior analyst at Ovum.
Peter Skyte, national officer for the Amicus trade union, said
he was concerned that offshoring would mean existing IT staff
losing their jobs in the UK.
“Offshoring is not necessarily a zero-sum game and overall the
UK may gain through offshoring. But there will be losers. People
will lose their jobs,” he said.
Main Recommendations
- A rolling programme of research to measure the impact of
offshoring on UK software development
- Create industry standard certification for high-level software
development roles, including software architects
- Develop more rigorous certification at every level for software
developers to increase the professional image of the industry
- Address the wide variation in the quality of degree-level
computer science
- Improve careers education, particularly for younger
children.
- Promote success stories of women in the IT profession
- Government should track the influx of foreign software
developers and outflow of UK software developers
- R&D incentives and better investor funding needed for large
software companies, and better protection for intellectual
property.