BI report shows huge holes in IT knowledge

According to a recent report conducted by CBI/ Pearson, over half of businesses are running remedial IT courses to bring employees up to speed.

The survey, covering 566 employers with a collective 2.2 million employees ,highlights that many employers, although generally satisfied with their employees, are not satisfied with their level of IT skills. 51 per cent of businesses are now providing remedial IT training for adults in the workplace.



Graduates


Overall there was a good level of satisfaction with graduate IT skills, with 26 per cent of businesses describing themselves as very satisfied; 68 per cent were satisfied and only six per cent were unsatisfied. Despite the general overall satisfaction of graduate employers, five per cent of businesses had to undertake remedial numeracy training for their graduate recruits.



School leavers entering the work place also needed additional training to subsidise their IT skills, with 20 per cent of companies deeming it necessary to provide additional training. Contrasted to the 17 per cent of businesses offering remedial training to graduates, it seems that while IT skills in schools are not fully preparing students for the work place, neither are universities. 20 per cent of employers reported that team working amongst graduates was a less than satisfactory and that one fifth of graduates also had an issue with problem solving.



School Leavers



The report also exposed the fact that many young people are leaving school not only without adequate IT skills but also have serious shortfalls in their employability skills. It is not just a lack of technology skills that employers would like to see improved over the coming years- 70 per cent of those surveyed stated that they would like to see employability skills become embedded into the current curriculum to better prepare students for the workplace.



These skills, also known as ‘soft skills’ comprise of communication ability, problem solving team working, time management and attitude to work. Encouraging students to take part in work experience before entering into full time employment could also benefit both school leavers and workplaces alike.



Thirty per cent of those surveyed commented that they would also like to see the government encourage schools and high education faculties to place more emphasis on developing technology skills.



Keith Attwood, chair of CBI’s education and skills committee said “The education and training of our current workforce and future recruits to our workforce is central to economic recovery. It’s their skills and their creativity that will be at the heart of the recovery process. Long term economic success is inexplicably linked to a nation’s standard of education and skills.”


There is an increasing focus on training in the workplace, with over two fifths of companies are looking to increase their investment over the next year.



The future’s bright?



With many businesses steadily moving towards and into the IT sector, a lack of skilled workers threatens to leave many job openings empty.


A recent statement from eSkills UK reports that 1.5 million people are currently employed in the IT and Telecoms industry and that employment in these sectors will grow at 2.19 per cent per annum- that’s five times faster than the national average.


With the current ICT national curriculum under reform, one can only hope that there will be greater emphasis placed on this growing market within schools. 2014 will bring with it the new syllabus s the current system is to be scrapped in September this year.


So what will school do until 2014? Schools will still be required to teach ICT at all levels but for the time being, teachers will be given free reign over what is taught, rather than the government. This ‘open source curriculum’ will be closely monitored and it is hoped that while weak ideas will not survive in this environment, strong ideas will thrive and may ultimately form the backbone of the new curriculum.