Home > News > January 2007 > 16 January 2007

IT skills gap at highest level for over a year, says e-skills

Skills gaps for ICT professionals have reached their highest level for over a year, according to findings released in the latest quarterly bulletin from e-skills, the Sector Skills Council for IT & telecoms.

In addition, just under one in five UK employers reported skills gaps for employees who use technology in their everyday work - the highest level since the end of 2004.

Other findings from the latest Bulletin, which covers the third quarter of 2006, include:

* There were 285,000 software professionals working in the UK - representing 29% of all ICT professionals. Over half (53%) of these software professionals work in the ICT industries, followed by finance, manufacturing and the public sector

* Software professionals are generally highly qualified, with around 61 per cent having a degree or equivalent qualification, compared with 22 per cent of UK workers more generally

* More than two in five (44%) software professionals work in London or the South East of England

* 29 per cent of all ICT professionals had received job-related training during the quarter

Karen Price, CEO of e-skills UK said: "The data in the e-skills Bulletin confirms that skills gaps among ICT professionals and IT users remain a serious issue for employers.

"We are pleased that the Government is currently considering recommendations that will help employers to increase their investment in training and ensure that learning and qualifications better meet their needs."

External link

To download the latest e-skills Bulletin (Q3 06), visit:
www.e-skills.com/bulletin

Training Reference is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites.

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