Skills dearth threatens IT services

The CBI and LogicaCMG kicked off a campaign last week to bring more skilled workers to the technology sector, to safeguard the future of the UK’s IT services industry. The two organisations released a report, Building a globally competitive IT services industry, arguing that educators, industry and the government must work together to ensure that the UK can compete globally.

“The UK is unable to compete with offshore rivals such as India on numbers of graduates,” said Martin Read, group chief executive at LogicaCMG. “[Instead] we need to ensure there is access to high-quality people, such as project managers, systems architects and management consultants.”

Read argued that the education system needs to move away from its current emphasis on passing tests, to instead equip students with problem-solving, analysis and communication skills. He also called for more work-based learning.

Nick Wilson, managing director of IT services firm Unisys, agreed that firms should do more to create the required skills base. “If [an IT services firm] cannot take someone with a geography degree and a good attitude and turn them into an IT professional in two years, then more fool them,” he argued.

Meanwhile, new research from recruitment firms suggests that attracting more females to the IT industry could help fill skills gaps. IT recruiter GCS said that only 17 percent of its placements are female, while women accounted for only eight percent of placements so far this year at IT graduate recruitment specialist FDM.