Whitehall report warns on skills shortage

Public sector CIOs need focus on developing staff expertise

Written by Sarah Arnott

Government chief information officers (CIOs) should establish skills working groups to address issues with the supply of expertise, says a government report.

Concerns that the IT marketplace lacks the capacity to deliver multibillion-pound plans such as ID cards and the NHS National Programme for IT are largely allayed by the findings of Whitehall buying agency the Office of Government Commerce (OGC).

But the supply of skilled staff remains a problem for government and suppliers.

‘The availability of senior experienced personnel is an issue from a delivery perspective; specifically programme managers, technical architects, and change managers,’ says the report. ‘Similar roles in the public sector were also identified as constraints.’

CIOs also need to pay attention to project and procurement management, because delays in one programme may have a detrimental knock-on effect on other public sector projects.

The IT capacity report was produced by the OGC for the Cabinet Office-run CIO Council, using details of more than 170 public sector projects with an annual value of about £3bn.

What do you think? Email us at: feedback@computing.co.uk

Related stories

IT skills gap widens

  • Have your say
  • Send to a friend
  • Print this
  • Share

reader comments

related articles

 

Whitehall wrangling raises fears of feed-in tariff delay

Department of Energy & Climate Change insists scheme will launch in April, despite reports final decision on tariffs is now not likely until January 23 Nov 2009

MPs demand greater transparency for government IT projects

Public Accounts Committee demands publication of Gateway reviews 10 Sep 2009

Whitehall needs more central control of IT, says report

Cross-department schemes could be implemented more efficiently with greater control 19 Jan 2010

related whitepapers

today's top stories

Face facts: social media is the future

No organisation can afford to ignore the way business communications are changing 18 Mar 2010

Is the data watchdog about to pounce?

Experts believe the Information Commissioner’s Office is itching to use its new power to impose hefty fines for data breaches. Martin Courtney reports 18 Mar 2010

Lloyd’s of London gears up for regulation

CIO Peter Hambling tells Angelica Mari about how the insurance market has updated its IT infrastructure to comply with new regulations 18 Mar 2010

Protests greet new Digital Economy Bill amendment

ISPs, digital rights groups and Liberal Democrat supporters cry foul 05 Mar 2010

IT Leaders' Forum in association with IBM

A unique opportunity to hear from expert speakers and engage in a debate about the future of the CIO job function 29 Jan 2010

Advertisement

Keys to successful Service‐Oriented Architecture implementation

This white paper explores best practices and general design patterns for service oriented architecture (SOA).

The Roadmap to IT Maturity — Matching Strategy to Infrastructure for Business Success

This paper defines a roadmap for matching infrastructure strategy to business success.

Advertisement

Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies; ITHound.com brings you over 6,000 white papers, case studies and analyst reports.

Advertisement

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

More available - click 'submit' to view

Existing User

Newsletter user login:

Jobs

Related jobs

Job of the week

Job alerts

Sign up here

Find your next job

IT Salary Checker

Check salary here

Advertisement

Latest poll

NHS centralised data

NHS centralised data

Do you think the NHS can be trusted to safely look after personal data electronically?

View poll results

Latest audio and video articles

Video

HP unveils S Series notebooks

'Prosumer' line overhauled 01 Mar 2010

Web Seminar Listings

Preparing for enterprise-scale Windows 7 migration

The web seminar on 18 Feb will discuss how Windows 7 migration can increase IT efficiency in large enterprises, freeing up budgetary and personnel resources to focus on business innovation. Our panel of experts will examine the strategies, tools and services IT leaders can use to migrate successfully and reap the rewards of increased efficiency. 19 Feb 2010

Latest in-depth articles

Smiths Group CIO Brian JonesAnalysis

Q&A: Brian Jones, CIO, Smiths Group

How should conglomerates be looking at the new IT technologies coming through? Brian Jones explains. 19 Mar 2010

Analysis

What security strategy should enterprises adopt after the recession?

Act now to put your your firm on higher growth path advise CISOs 19 Mar 2010

Primary Navigation