IT Skills Shortage - Do Schools have a responsibility?

Much has been reported about a potential IT skills shortage in the coming years and it seems that this problem could be further exacerbated if more is not done to make IT more interesting and accessible within schools.

Chief Inspector Miriam Rosen said: "In a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on technology, young people need to be given the opportunity to learn ICT skills in an interesting, challenging and relevant way.  Schools should provide a range of ICT courses that are suitably matched to students needs, support them with their learning and prepare them for higher education and for skilled work in a technological age."

This is not the first time our schools have come under scrutiny from experts - in 2011 Google chairman Eric Schmidt said that he was unimpressed with IT teaching in UK's schools and last month the Department for Culture, Media and Sport published a report that found ICT teaching to be "insufficiently rigorous and in need of reform".

These could be some of the reasons why only 31,800 students took GCSE ICT in 2011 compared with 81,100 in 2007 - a marked 61% reduction.

So what should our schools be doing and who is doing it well?