Government and industry join in scheme for IT skills

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

NEWS
E-Skills UK on Tuesday called for the government, employers and educators to join a new scheme for improving the IT abilities of the 21 million UK employees currently using IT at work. The E-Skills Passport will allow employers to track employee skills and training, improving workforce skills by identifying and recognising small chunks of learning. E-Skills UK is one of several independent, employer-led organisations that were granted government licences on Tuesday to handle skills development for various sectors. E-Skills UK was licensed for five years as the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for IT, telecoms and contact centres. The SSCs operate under the auspices of the government's new Sector Skills Development Agency, which replaces the previous network of National Training Organisations. IT companies such as Microsoft, Dell, BT and T-Mobile have representatives on E-Skills UK's IT Industry Board. The organisation also called for its Computer Clubs for Girls (CC4G) programme, currently being piloted in more than 100 schools, to be rolled out to every school in the UK. Currently women make up only 20 percent of the IT workforce, E-Skills UK said. CC4G received funding from the South East Development Agency. Girls participating in the programme design CD and teen magazine covers, use Flash animation and create Web sites. Charles Clarke, Secretary of State for Education and Skills, recommended for them to be open to both genders; at one school, boys set up their rival Computer Club for Guys in reaction to being excluded. David Burrows, head of education at Microsoft, agreed with Clarke's views. "Despite some of the near-term challenges that the IT industry faces, the reality is that IT is going to be increasingly central to the transformation of the economy like the UK, which will be increasingly driven by knowledge and information," he said. "I don't think that the new generation coming into the industry has really started to get an understanding of the potential of what ICT can do. This isn't just about IT in IT. This is (every facet of) business." Other programmes E-Skills UK is promoting include:
  • IT and Telecoms Modern Apprenticeships, developed as a way of training young people to work effectively in their early careers. Orange are one of the companies using the apprenticeships.
  • Skills Framework for The Information Age (SFIA), which provides a common reference model for the identification of the skills needed to develop effective information systems, and make use of ICT. This has been adopted by the Ministry of Defence.
Dell got involved with E-Skills UK three years ago, according to Dell vice president and general manager Brian McBride, because of the organisation's across-the-board focus on IT skills. "It was the first time a unifying forum in the IT industry is bringing together hardware, software, services, the telecoms industry and contact centres, large and small companies. And getting us all together to address common issues." On a lighter note McBride said parents could do their street cred no end of good by introducing their daughters to the Computer Clubs for Girls. E-Skills UK chief executive Karen Price said that UK employees' IT training will have a direct impact on the performance of the nation's economy. "In the UK, less than three quarters of the workforce posses the necessary IT skills to perform their job; it's simply not good enough," she said. "This skills gap impacts the GDP of the UK as a whole and means the organisations affected simply cannot fulfil their potential."
For a round-up of the latest tech business coverage, see the Business News Section. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

For all job and work-related news, or to search for a job and get information on training, go to ZDNet Jobs. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Freebies202

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

5 hours ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source
kevinmchapman

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

13 hours ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Marg Menzies Harrison

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

15 hours ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
zdnetukuser

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

15 hours ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface
Moley

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

17 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

19 hours ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

20 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

21 hours ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

21 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

22 hours ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

24 hours ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

1 day ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

1 day ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

1 day ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

1 day ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

1 day ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

1 day ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

1 day ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

1 day ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

1 day ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint