A new report from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) called, ‘Technology and Skills in the Digital Industries’ reveals that despite IT specialists powering the UK economy, lack of skills is hampering economic growth. Below are exerts from an article found here, on Default News.
“The digital sector will require nearly 300,000 new recruits by 2020 to maximise its full potential. New roles will be created that will require both deeper and more specialised technical IT skills, complemented by business, sales and communications skills. But at present, a lack of specialist technical skills are hampering growth in the sector. Nearly one fifth of all vacancies are difficult to fill due to skills shortages, making it harder for digital companies to keep a pace with technological change.”
The report was written by e-skills UK, the Sector Skills Council for business and information technology, and funded by UKCES.
Rachel Pinto, research manager at UKCES, said: “The digital sector contributes nearly £69 billion to the economy. Much of this is through the technology IT specialists develop and the services they provide. It is also one of the most productive sectors with a growth rate since the recession three times above average.
“But the impact of IT specialists goes much further than this – of the total 1.1 million IT specialists in the UK, just under half are employed in the digital sector, with the rest most likely to be employed in finance and professional services, manufacturing or the public sector.
“To make sure the digital sector really thrives, there’s a clear need for employers to take ownership of the skills agenda and play an active role in training the next generation of IT specialists.”
The report is available to download here.