Introduction
The UK, as a whole, is highly dependent on its national IT workforce; it effectively underpins our entire economy. The UK’s IT & Telecoms industry provides an annual contribution of around 71 billion pounds, equating to 8.4% of the total UK economy. It’s also estimated that it will provide a further 35 billion pounds of growth to the UK economy over the next 5 to 7 years.
Current Position
There are approximately 150k jobs available in the UK’s IT & Telecoms industry. 1 in 18 people (6%) of employed people in the UK are working in IT & Telecoms (1.52 million people.) This breaks down to around 860k people in the industry itself, with a further 663k working as IT or Telecoms professionals in other industries. Gross average earnings for IT & Telecoms professionals are around £670 per week, which is 33% more than the UK national average income of £450.
Market Growth
E-Skills and Experian have concluded that growth in the IT & Telecoms sector is predicted to continue strongly until 2018. While overall UK employment is expected to increase at just 0.3% per annum over the coming decade, the IT & Telecoms market is predicted to grow at an impressive four times this rate (1.2% per annum.)
Within IT & Telecoms jobs, an average of 110k completely new entrants are required every year to cover the approx. 130k job opportunities expected each year between 2008 and 2013. The largest recruitment source (over half at 52%) is expected to be those individuals who are currently employed in non IT related occupations (i.e. adults undergoing re-training.) Although Higher Education has always been an important source of talent for IT, over the last five years the number of applicants has fallen by 50% for computing-related degrees.
The Challenges
For many organisations, the absence of applicants with the right skills, qualifications and experience is still a problem – particularly in the case of the IT & Telecoms firms themselves, where some 43% of recruiters report a lack of suitable candidates. Common skills shortages are often reported around the areas of programming, technical support and management.
Approximately one-in-ten (11%) of companies employing IT professionals consider their workers to be below the level of training needed. 77% of employers state this mainly stems from not being able to find the time around work commitments. This obviously suggests that study outside of normal working hours is required.
Looking To The Future
Virtually all non IT related positions (92% of jobs) that were advertised during late 2008 were deemed to require some level of IT user skill; with 29% of employers reporting that the typical level of skill available was below that required by their company. The reality is that workers from all sectors must now be able to use IT systems more effectively. They will not only need increased skills in basic software and computer technology, but they will increasingly need to have a deeper understanding of IT security implications and technical support processes.
Going forward, all IT professionals will need to develop greater skills in the actual application of their technology. As well as having strong technical skills in areas like security and systems infrastructure, they will also need much greater expertise in networking and newly converging technologies & markets. IT management professionals will furthermore need to develop better skills in business process, change and project management, as well as risk management and security. Specialist web skills will be increasingly required to cope with the global shift to internet-based computing, along with the project and supplier management skills to manage that workload.
The Conclusion?
A disciplined and effective I.T. self-learning strategy is becoming essential to survive in today’s technology-led society. For those that are considering IT as a career move, there has never been a better time to start or improve your skill-set. And there’s no doubt that workers from every market will face increasing pressure to keep up with modern technology skills, as I.T. plays a larger and more fundamental role in the way they work.
Why not talk to a LearningLolly professional advisor today and start planning for your future.
