IT services company
LogicaCMG is recruiting
A-level students to fill IT vacancies following a sharp drop in
the number of students leaving university with IT-related
degrees.
UK employers need about 150,000 new IT professionals
each year, but only 25,640 computer science graduates were due to
enter the market this year. TheBritish Computer
Societysaid the drop in numbers was
potentially very damaging for small and medium-sized
firms.
Three or four years ago, graduate spaces at LogicaCMG could have
been filled several times over, said Gary Argent, UK graduate
recruitment manager at the firm. But the decline in graduate
numbers, combined with an increase in demand, means the company is
struggling to fill its 200 annual graduate spaces.
"Recruiting is getting difficult because fewer students are
signing up to IT degrees, and more employers are looking for IT
staff," said Argent. "There are still good students out there, but
it is increasingly difficult to find them."
Thirteen A-level recruits started in September this year, and
the company will take on 20 next year.
Under the scheme, A-level students enrol on a part-time degree
course. They study for a BA in management (information systems) at
the University of
Winchester one day a week. Their contract requires them to stay
at LogicaCMG for three years after completing their degree.
The company pays all course costs, including course materials,
and provides the students with a laptop.
"It is a risk that they will leave after the three years, but
the people who go through this will be the high-fliers and the
managers of the future, and hopefully they won't even think of
leaving," said Argent.
"Most of the other employers I speak to have a similar
experience. We are all facing the same sort of challenges."
David Evans, government relations manager at the BCS, said,
"Competition for recruiting the best graduates will heat up as the
numbers leaving university with a computing degree falls off. Large
private sector organisations can compete, but for small business
and the public sector, this drop off will be potentially very
damaging."