IT industry has a lot to look forward to, says Timms

“People working in IT will have a lot to look forward to in the next couple of years,” says Digital Britain minister Stephen Timms, highlighting the critical role UK IT will play in the future of the UK economy.

Rising unemployment, elusive growth and a finance sector in the doghouse mean government is looking to the technology industry as a recovery engine.

Timms – who had a 15-year stint in IT at firms such as Logica prior to his political life – told Computing that up-skilling technology professionals is vital to deliver that vision.

“I think IT will grow faster than the economy as a whole. The strategy that Lord Mandelson is driving is the identification of key [recovery drivers] and IT is one of them. So we want to ensure that through investment in skills and other strategies such as apprenticeships, we are prepared to make the most out of these opportunities,” said Timms.

Sector skills council e-Skills UK maintains that 420,000 new high-level staff will be needed over the next three years to fill high-level positions, on top of the 1.5 million people already employed in IT.

Despite the pool of qualified personnel created by recession, there remain questions as to how the UK will meet the demand, given diminishing interest among school leavers in ICT-related careers and the off-shoring of low-level IT jobs. Without these natural starting points, how do new-comers get a foot on the IT ladder?

According to Timms, the government is making ‘good progress’ in addressing those issues. Core elements of the government plan to invest in IT skills are the creation of the National Skills Academy and the creation of regional centres to support the technological education of teachers.

“We have also recently published new proposals on higher education and the skills framework and have highlighted the digital skill-set in particular as one of the priorities – we want to line up our investment in skills with these growth areas in the economy,” said Timms.

“There is a very big government commitment, as it must be given the needs of the economy over the next few years. I am optimistic about our ability to meet the demand [for high-level IT staff],” he added.

“The more people we need the better, as it reflects growth. We want to support that with investment in skills, as well as more activity in schools and universities. We are making good progress on that front.”

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