Few topics are closer to the heart of IT managers and IT professionals than skills and career development.
As the debate moves away from skills shortages and instead to skills gaps, and the profile of IT leaders continues to become more business-oriented, we look back at the top stories of 2007.
Click on the headlines to read the full story.
January
Employment rate rises for IT graduates
The unemployment rate among young IT graduates has dropped from 10.7 per cent to 10.3 per cent, according to a report by the Higher Education Careers Service Unit (Hecsu).
However, the rate is still one of the highest of all subjects, a legacy from the industry's recession in the early years of the decade, the unit says.
Local government IT recruitment boom is over
The boom in IT recruitment in local authorities is over, as budgets stabilise following five years of investment in egovernment, according to new research.
The study by user group Socitm, IT Trends in Local Government 2006/7, is based on a survey of 475 UK authorities and examines how the move to delivering online public services has affected council's abilities to sustain a state of change and modernisation.
The report says IT recruitment, which had been growing steadily in the local authority sector, has now stabilised due to shrinking budgets.
IT skills gap worsens to
match 2004 levels
The IT skills gap is at its highest level since 2004 and is continuing to grow
for both technology users and IT professionals, according to research.
Sector skills council e-Skills UK says more than one in 10 UK employers report deficiencies in the skills of their IT staff, compared with just five per cent the previous quarter.
The shortages concern both higher-level technical abilities and business skills, with medium to large firms worst affected.
Relocation narrows IT
pay gap
The gap between regional wages for IT staff and those of London IT workers has
narrowed by three per cent, according to research published last week.
The closing IT pay gap is attributable to firms relocating IT departments to lower-cost locations outside the capital, says IT staffing company ReThink Recruitment.
Women feel the need to prove their IT skills
Women are failing to sell their IT skills effectively according to new research by IT training company The Training Camp.
The research shows that over half (54 per cent) feel they need proof of qualifications to reinforce their experience whereas their male counterparts would simply talk their way into new jobs and projects.
Over a third (35 per cent) of women interviewed for the research believed industry recognised qualifications in key technology areas could boost their salaries by as much as 40 per cent.
February
UK’s basic IT skills fall behind European rivals
UK workers’ basic-level IT skills fall short of those of European rivals, according to research published last week.
Less than 60 per cent of staff in this country have the technical proficiency they need, compared with 80 per cent in Poland, 75 per cent in Portugal and 65 per cent in Romania, says a report from analyst IDC published at the Government Leaders Forum.
IT skills decline puts UK research at risk
A decline in computing students is threatening UK research and the IT industry’s future, according to a review published last week.
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s International Review, commissioned by the BCS, the Institute of Engineering and Technology and Intellect, says the number of students studying computing in higher education has fallen by 40 per cent since 2001 and is showing no signs of recovery.
BA launches IT recruitment drive
British Airways (BA) is planning to recruit 20 people as part of a new IT Professional Programme, the first such campaign mounted by the airline in more than six years.
BA will provide 18 months intensive training in IT support, development and delivery and business analysis to graduates of any discipline wanting to work in IT.
March
Employers play down IT
degrees
Fifty-nine per cent of employers do not regard IT degrees as essential
qualifications for entering the IT industry, according to research published by
sector skills council e-Skills UK.
IT degrees should give a wider range of abilities than traditional computing courses, says Karen Price, e-Skills UK chief executive.
IT recruitment companies
feel skills pinch
Over three quarters of IT leaders expect demand for skilled IT workers to
increase over the next 12 months, according to research.
A study by recruitment software supplier SkillsMarket found the top issue for IT recruitment companies in 2007 is a skills shortage.
Shortage of CRM skills
will create project failures
By the end of next year a quarter of customer relationship management (CRM)
projects will be postponed or cancelled because of a shortage of workers with
relevant skills, according to analyst Gartner.
The organisation told delegates at its CRM Summit in London this week that the dearth of expert CRM consultants and systems integrators will get worse as projects become more ambitious.
April
IT sector jobs model to meet skills needs
Standard terminology for describing IT skills and career paths will help the sector produce the staff it needs, according to skills groups.
A three-tier model has been developed by sector skills council e-Skills UK and is supported by industry bodies including the BCS, business group the CBI and supplier body Intellect.
The first strand of the Professional Competency Model specifies seven general disciplines, including service delivery, business change management, and development and implementation.
A-level pupils need incentives to curb looming skills problem
Incentives for students to pass A-levels in science, technology, engineering, and maths combined with greater industry involvement are key to reversing declining numbers of technology graduates, according to a report published last week.
There is an urgent need to radically improve the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (Stem) skills supply chain, according to the Stem Review by the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE) and LogicaCMG.
May
Leeds City Council’s 345-strong IT department is at the vanguard of plans to establish a fully-fledged technology profession within the public sector.
The local authority is the first such body to implement a skills competency framework developed by the Cabinet Office’s eGovernment Unit (eGU) as part of its IT professionalism agenda.
Using the generic eGU framework, combined with additional behavioural elements, Leeds has mapped the current skills of all of its technology staff.
Skills gap is hampering virtualisation progress
Over half (53 per cent) of UK businesses are unable to implement virtualisation technology because of a lack of relevant skills, according to independent research commissioned by IT consultant Avanade.
Although 46 per cent of respondents have mapped a virtualisation strategy, a skills gap in this area is proving a stumbling block for more than half.
UK requires IT skills to compete globally
Government, industry and academia must work together if the UK is to develop the skills required for a thriving knowledge economy, says an influential report released last week.
In the face of global competition, knowledge-intensive industries such as IT make a disproportionate contribution to growth.
Computer skills becoming increasingly important
Computer skills are essential to almost half of all UK jobs, according to research published today.
The Skills at Work, 1986 to 2006 study, published by the ESRC Research Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE), says half of all jobs in 2006 required computer skills, compared with less than a third in 1997.
June
Government IT needs more programme management
Lack of programme management skills is jeopardising the success of major government IT projects, according to the influential Public Accounts Committee of MPs.
More than half of the Senior Responsible Owners (SRO) taking overall responsibility for delivery of major technology schemes have no previous experience in the role and nearly half spend less than a fifth of their time on SRO-related tasks.
A skills crisis in the software development sector could seriously damage the UK’s ability to compete globally, according to the second of the Microsoft-commissioned Developing the Future (DtF) reports published last week.
The IT industry is growing five to eight times faster than the national average and needs 150,000 new entrants each year. But the number of students taking A-level computing has dropped 43 per cent from 2001 to 2006, and IT-related degrees almost halved - from 27,000 to 14,700 - between 2001 and 2005.
Employers want IT grads
with business skills
One in five employers are not recruiting IT graduates because they lack business
acumen, despite a rising demand for skilled workers.
And 40 per cent of employers consider the level of business and non-technical skills of the IT graduates they do recruit to be inadequate, says research by sector skills body e-Skills UK.
IT director diploma aims to improve leadership skills
A new qualification for IT directors aims to help develop non-technical and business skills and increase leadership qualities in the boardroom.
The Diploma in Company Direction was jointly developed by the and the British Computer Society (BCS) and reflects the growing need for IT professionals to possess business and leadership skills as well as technical know-how.
Soft skills training is needed for success
Nearly three-quarters of IT leaders say a lack of skills in their department is impeding change management projects.
A survey by user group CIO Connect found 64 per cent of IT managers had to change the people in charge of projects to ensure success.
July
Skills and innovation department created
Skills and innovation were given high priority in the new Cabinet announced by prime minister Gordon Brown last week.
A new Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) under secretary of state John Denham will be responsible for the development and delivery of science, research, innovation and a skills base to ensure the UK has the workforce to compete in a global economy.
Government launches UK skills campaign
The newly formed Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) today launched a campaign to improve skills across the UK workforce.
The cross-media initiative driven by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and DIUS aims to change attitudes of employers and individuals about learning and skills over a three-to five year period. It is the first part of plans to address requirements set out last year by the Leitch Review of Skills.
When it comes to the most in-demand skills and making yourself a high-value candidate to potential employers, there is only so much IT professionals can do at short notice.
Employees should be doing many of the self-improvement activities on a day-to-day basis, not just looking to make themselves more attractive to likely employers when they suddenly decide they want to move.
Case study: Government IT Profession
With the advent of joined-up government and shared services, the IT skills strategy to support the government’s transformational agenda is today co-ordinated centrally by the Cabinet Office’s Delivery and Transformation Group.
Anne Waldron, who leads the Government IT Profession, which is one of the group’s key programmes and brings together all IT professionals working across the UK public sector, says now is a great time to be moving into the public sector.
August
IT undergraduates have UK’s highest dropout rate
Mathematics and computer sciences have the highest university dropout rate in the UK, with one in 10 undergraduates not continuing into a second year of study.
The figures are in stark contrast to medicine and dentistry – with the highest retention rate of 98 per cent – according to the latest official figures from the National Audit Office, published last week.
Maths and computer sciences have also suffered the biggest decline in first-year student intakes, dropping by a quarter since 2002.
Retailers rethink IT
director role
High street giants Boots and House of Fraser are phasing out the IT director
role following major infrastructure overhauls.
Experts say the financial burden of catching up with past underinvestment in technology may be to blame.
Senior programmers in short supply
The perennial skills crisis in the IT sector is showing few signs of improving.
Software engineers, technical support staff and systems designers are in particularly short supply, according to a quarterly report by sector skills body e-Skills UK.
And shortages in senior programming positions are likely to occur continue over the coming six months.
IT departments must sell themselves to attract talent
Chief information officers (CIOs) must improve the public image of their department to attract new talent.
IT directors are already aware of the importance of marketing technology to the business, but few understand how to present their organisation to job applicants, according to analyst Forrester Research.
Computer science A-level numbers decline
The number of students taking technology A-level subjects has dropped again, school leavers' results published today show.
In 2007 5,610 took A-level Computing, compared with 6,233 last year.
And the number taking A-level Information and Communication Technology fell to
13,360 from 14,208.
IT directors keen to improve leadership skills
A qualification for IT directors to improve their leadership skills has reached maximum subscription levels in just two months, reflecting the growing need for both business and technology skills.
The Diploma in Company Direction is jointly run by the Institute of Directors (IoD) and the British Computer Society (BCS), and is a response to the changing role of IT directors to incorporate business skills.
September
Mobile technology opens
skills gap
A shortage of mobile software development skills has driven contractor salaries
up by 16 per cent in the past 12 months, the fastest increase since the 1990s
dot com boom.
But the struggle to recruit the right staff is just the latest manifestation of a repeated problem in the IT industry.
The growing popularity of BlackBerrys and other 3G mobile services has increased hourly rates for content developers from £37 to £43, says research from SkillsMarket and the Association of Technology Staffing Companies (Atsco).
Women in IT are scarce
and underpaid
More than half the women working in IT say they are not being paid fairly, comp
ared with male colleagues.
And the gender ratio is widening as the industry fails to attract or retain female staff, according to the annual Women in IT survey published this week by trade group Intellect.
Can we solve the skills
crisis?
With IT leaders finding it increasingly difficult to recruit the right talent,
and a worrying drop in the number of students being trained in computer science,
some experts say the UK is headed for a skills meltdown.
In the context of a competitive global economy, an IT skills shortage could spell disaster for the national economy, because technology is an integral part of, and continues to provide essential support for, every other industrial sector.
The skills issue always sparks fierce debate, but the facts speak for themselves: the UK IT industry is growing five to eight times faster than other sectors and needs 150,000 new entrants each year.
Offshoring trend hits
high-end skills
BT’s plans for a research base in China are the latest evidence that the trend
for offshoring is affecting high-level skills, say experts.
The telecoms giant announced last week that it is to open a facility in Shanghai, expected to employ up to 20 staff by the end of the year.
New skills initiative
aims to combat fall in IT degrees
Sector skills body e-Skills UK is today launching a new initiative to address
falling take up of IT-related university courses.
The Revitalise IT scheme aims to address the 46 per cent drop in IT-related degrees since 2001, which has taken place while the industry has seen growth of almost 100 per cent in the last 12 years, from 550,000 to one million employees.
UK IT industry becoming less 'techie'
The number of software development jobs in the UK has dropped five per cent from 34 per cent to 29 per cent in the past year, according to the latest research.
The findings from ReThink Recruitment reinforce the premise that a global division of labour is emerging in IT, with the UK specialising in project management and consultancy, while developing countries increase their share of work in more technical areas.
October
Only one in three chief information officers (CIOs) report to the chief executive, compared with more than 50 per cent five years ago, and only 46 per cent have a board position, according to new research.
The lack of executive influence is causing record levels of job dissatisfaction and could spell the end of the CIO role altogether, say experts.
Whitehall IT fast stream
application opens
Recruitment for Whitehall's Technology in Business fast stream is now starting,
expanding on last year's pilot programme.
The 2006 scheme recruited six people as part of the IT professionalism agenda being championed by the Cabinet Office eGovernment Unit. There are 20 places on this year's scheme.
IT helpdesk and project manager jobs are in demand
Demand for IT helpdesk staff has increased 45 per cent compared to this time last year, according to new figures.
A survey by online IT recruitment company The Job Board also found demand for IT project managers rose 35 per cent in the same period.
UK IT salaries among
highest
UK technology professionals have the fourth highest salaries in the world, after
Switzerland, Denmark and Belgium.
The average wage for an IT manager in the UK is £62,180, compared with £74,150 in Switzerland, £64,750 in Denmark and £63,760 in Belgium, according to a survey by consultant Mercer examining salaries paid by 6,545 companies in 35 different countries.
November
Credit crunch may create
IT jobs
Demand for IT professionals in the financial sector could rise as companies seek
to repair the damage from the global credit crunch.
The sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US has started to affect the UK's IT industry, as businesses tighten their belts in response to the economic uncertainty.
But demand for skilled workers could actually increase if financial institutions decide to upgrade their supporting infrastructure, according to staffing company ReThink Recruitment.
Marks and Spencer searches for business-savvy IT recruits
Marks and Spencer is restructuring its IT department to embed technology staff in the company’s business units.
The technology function is no longer one entity located at the company’s Stockley Park headquarters, but has individual teams working in different areas such as buying, merchandising, retail and back office.
The firm is also taking on five times as many technology graduates, but with an emphasis on general business skills rather than pure computer science qualifications.
December
Super users replace
programmers
The growth of application-building programmes, with graphical, task-oriented
environments, reusable templates and automatic design assistants has
revolutionised the way businesses can approach the development of IT systems.
Marks and Spencer is a convert. In the late 1980s, the retail chain employed several hundred programmers. Now it has none that are not either contractors or based offshore. “The need for programmers has declined and instead we have super users using a lot more standard applications,” IT director Darrell Stein told Computing.
Lessons in IT know-how
There are more than four million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in
the UK, accounting for over half the country’s employment and turnover. But
while they may be the lifeblood of the economy, in terms of IT skills it seems
they are suffering from blocked arteries.
Frank Shaw, foresight director at independent think-tank the Centre for Future Studies, says the vast majority of SMEs do not have adequate technology expertise. “As a consequence, they don’t know what they don’t know, which makes them vulnerable to suppliers and consultants who prey on their ignorance,” he says.
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