Employers hope that anIT diplomafor teenagers, showcased
last week, will encourage more young people to enter the IT
profession.
The qualification, aimed at students aged 14 to 19, was
developed with employers and higher education authorities - a fact
that employers say will help to "transform" the image of IT for
young people.
The number of students choosing to study IT at A-level and
degree level has been falling for the past few years, and IT
departments are increasingly turning to foreign graduates or
outsourcing deals to fill the gaps.
Need for home-grown IT skills
Employers say a strong, home-grown IT workforce will be crucial
if the UK is to remain competitive in the coming decades.
IT suppliers including
LogicaCMG,
Microsoft,
Vodafone and
Cisco said that they are hopeful the new IT diploma will
attract young talent, and ensure they are equipped with the skills
that the modern workplace demands.
Ed Balls, secretary of state for schools, said at Tower Hamlets
College last week, "If the demand comes from employers, then the
students will want to study it. I think it will change attitudes to
IT."
Pat Wallace, business development manager at network supplier
Cisco, said, "Traditionally, young people have thought of IT as a
back-office thing. Our challenge is to get more people - and a
greater range of people - involved. I am confident that the diploma
is going to create more of a buzz around the subject."
Andy Hill, head of executive resourcing and development at
mobile network operator Vodafone, described the course as a "big
leap forward".
He said, "We are not a typical IT organisation, so we are
looking for broader project management skills. We wanted to
emphasise the generic learning, and I feel we have got a good mix
in the diploma."
Developing business skills
Steve Beswick, director of education at Microsoft, said the
business context of the diploma will prompt more people to study
IT.
"I believe the diploma will deliver the skills we want. It is a
combination of good quality skills and education as well as softer
skills. Sometimes that is quite hard to find," he said.
"It will attract more people into the industry because it is
broader. It is not just the technical side, it is the business
context. It could be a transformation.
"Kids use technology so much at home, and hopefully the diploma
will transform this into learning at college. The economy in 2020
will be knowledge based, and a fundamental part of this is IT
skills."
Addressing the skills shortage
Gary Argent, UK graduate recruitment manager at IT services
company LogicaCMG, hopes the diploma will tackle the dwindling
number of younger candidates.
"When I first started four years ago, it was easy to recruit -
we were filling graduate spaces twice over. There is now more
competition and more employers looking for IT graduates - and it is
only going to get harder.
"I think the diploma will do two things: it will ensure people
are studying the right skills, and hopefully it will encourage
students to study IT when they see we are all backing it."
it skills diploma
● The diploma in IT is aimed at students aged 14 to 19
● It will be available from September 2008
● There are three levels of qualification available: foundation,
higher and advanced
● An advanced diploma will be equivalent to three A-levels
● Employers, education experts and government have worked with
sector skills council E-Skills UK to develop the course
Topics on the course include:
● The impact of technology on the organisation of companies
● Creating business cases
● Designing, developing and testing technology systems
● Managing small-scale live technology systems
● Identifying key factors in the success or failure of
projects
● Developing effective interpersonal skills