Sector Skills Agreement
e-skills,
the UK sector skills council for IT, has recently published the “Sector
Skills Agreement for IT:2005-2008” (SSA).
e-skills brings together industry, government and the education
sector to ensure that the UK workforce has (now and in the future)
the IT skills to match employers' requirements.
This isn’t only about sustaining the existing IT workforce
(around 1.2 million people) but also the business managers that
need to understand and realise the potential of IT (4 million) and
all the workers who use IT (20 million). There is also the need
ensure that the number of new entrants into IT increases to meet
the future demand of the market – the IT sector alone produces
a Gross Value Added of £30 billion to the UK economy.
This is where the SSA comes in – it presents a strategy for
change, with four key strategic objectives:
- making IT careers more attractive
- preparing the future workforce
- developing the existing workforce
- improving the current infrastructure
The SSA is backed by major IT partners and employers including
Computer Associates, BT, Microsoft, IBM, HP and Oracle to name a
few.
Various initiatives are already in place or being developed, for
instance a new Honours degree programme – the Information
Technology Management for Business BSc (ITMB). This undergraduate
course will be available at five UK universities, extending to more
in the following years. This degree is different in that it integrates
industry-related content with academic study, meaning new graduates
are prepared for the challenges of the workplace when they complete
their course – not three months into their new job.
The ITMB is a prime example of what the SSA is about – partnerships
and collaboration that will ensure the UK IT workforce is not only
prepared for future challenges but that the UK remains at the forefront
of IT innovation within the changing global economic environment.
However, the ITMB is just one current initiative – employers
themselves have committed to investing £2.4 billion on training
for IT professionals in the next three years. With this sort of
investment and the innovative new approaches and partnerships outlined
in the SSA, e-skills hopes for a far-reaching improvement in IT
skills and competitiveness.
Further details on the sector skills agreement for IT can be found
on the e-skills website:
www.e-skills.com/ssa
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