Although there is ashortage of IT students, it is
unlikely that funding will be restored for IT training, the
minister for higher education, Bill Rammell, has told a select
committee inquiry.
Rammell was speaking at the Department of Innovation,
Universities and Skills select committee inquiry held at the House
of Commons on January 17. The committee was looking into why
funding is being cut for students taking qualifications that are
equivalent to or lower than any they already hold. Once the policy
is in place, graduates will be unable to get government funding for
a course that is worth less than a degree.
This will cause problems for IT staff wishing to up-skill and
retrain - especially for
women returning to work after having children - and for non-IT
graduates who want to go into the profession and need to take the
appropriate courses.
The policy was announced last December and the higher education
sector says it has been rushed through with little consultation.
Under the new rules, the burden will fall more heavily on employers
to fund training.
Several subjects, including medicine and Islamic studies, are
exempt from the policy, because they are viewed as both
strategically important and vulnerable. IT has not been included in
this list of exemptions.
Rammell confirmed at the enquiry hearing that IT would be
subject to the new rules, but conceded there would be an annual
review of the exempt subjects.
He said, "The analysis that there is a great shortage of IT
students is correct, although relatively recent. Two years ago
there was not a problem.
"There would be a problem if, at every juncture, we were
changing these subjects on the list. I am not persuaded at the
moment in respect of IT, but I am saying we should conduct an
annual review."
Karen Price, chief executive of IT sector
skills council E-Skills UK, said, "Technology is the engine of
the UK economy. It underpins the productivity of all business. The
demand for people to fulfil those roles is going to continue to
grow. If we are not attracting the quality and quantity of students
we need it is a highly vulnerable subject."