Employers back skills action plan

UK businesses will invest £2.4bn in employee training over the next three years as part of an IT skills action plan that aims to close the productivity gap between the UK and its international competitors.

The Skills Sector Agreement for IT (SSA for IT) was launched this week by skills body e-Skills UK. Chief executive Karen Price says the plan will help employers prioritise skills issues.

'We want to make a difference to hundreds and thousands of people, and if we can align all that energy and commitment I believe we can deliver major change,' said Price.

The £2.4bn will help develop an employer-supported national hub for IT-related business support and skills development.

Cisco has made a commitment to sharing elearning and other resources with not-for-profit education establishments.

And Microsoft has promised to support the provision of Continuing Professional Development by making online learning resources available for use with desktop applications.

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has pledged £8.4m to Computer Clubs for Girls (CC4G), an out-of-school initiative that will encourage 150,000 girls in 3,600 schools to consider a career in technology.

It is expected that employers will contribute £22m to CC4G by 2008, in the form of software donations, time and cash.

Software companies Serif, Gael and Idigicon have promised to donate almost £800,000 of software licences to schools involved in the programme.

'SSA for IT is different because it is employer-driven, and the degree of commitment employers are making to this plan is unprecedented,' said Price.

e-Skills UK developed the SSA for IT action plan after research demonstrated that a quarter of businesses in the UK lack employees with the everyday IT skills required to do their jobs.

In the IT industry alone, the plan is expected to close the productivity gap with Germany by £1.8bn, France by £1.6bn and the US by £0.3bn.

Minister for Skills Phil Hope says SSA for IT and programmes such as CC4G will help redress a serious workforce imbalance.

'It is crucial that women are involved so we can meet employers' needs,' he said.