FAQ about the e-skills Charter

1) Who should sign up to the Charter ?

The Charter is designed for all employers of IT professionals in IT and Telecoms companies as well as IT professional in non IT companies who use IT to benefit profitability.

So far, the Charter has been signed by UK Directors of multinational IT and non IT companies as well as owners and directors of UK small and medium sized enterprises.

2) Why sign I up to the Charter ?

The Charter shows an employers commitment to work with the e-skills NTO to overcome the skills gap that is presently constraining the UK professional IT market.

e-skills NTO, through sponsorship from the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for Education and Skills, are working with employers in the IT, Telecoms and Modern Media industries to increase the number of people considering a career in IT. This is being brought about through changing the image of IT, encouraging employers to use non traditional recruitment pools, increasing the provision of quality work experience placements available in IT and inspiring children at school to understand the application of software and internet products.

Commitment to the Charter shows a desire to be part of the formulation of the strategies to overcome the skills gap as well as a willingness to implement these strategies across companies.

3) What are the benefits of me signing the Charter ?

The strategies being developed by the e-skills NTO along with a range of employers will be implemented in a number of UK and multinational companies. The e-skills NTO has a relationship with a wide range of schools, colleges, universities and training companies who are all keen to work with companies committed to overcoming the skills gap and investing in the future of the IT sector.

By committing to the Charter, companies will be in a position to formulate a nationwide strategy as well as being the first to receive and be able to implement the innovative ideas to encourage more people to consider the IT sector.

The national and trade press are actively reporting the work of the e-skills NTO to promote careers in the IT sector. There is now a regular flow of articles documenting the progress of the Charter and this is a chance for companies to be identified to be working with e-skills NTO and leading edge UK and multinational companies to overcome the skills shortage.

4) What if I am already doing innovative things to encourage people into IT ?

Great. You probably have a lot of ideas that will be beneficial to other companies. The only way to overcome the skills gap we are currently facing is by the e-skills NTO sharing best practice around processes such as recruitment, work experience and employee relations. whilst always respecting companies competitive advantage.

Sign the Charter and work with us to share best practice. By doing so, recruits who in the past may not have considered the sector will be attracted giving all companies a larger recruitment pool to fish in.

5) When should I sign the Charter ?

Yesterday ! Everyday UK PLC is losing millions of pounds due to the IT skills gap. The sooner we start to work together to overcome this gap the better

6) Where should I sign up ?

Sign up online at www.e-skillsnto.org.uk/cgi-bin/e-skills.pl/charter/signup.html

7) Who has already signed up ?

UK Directors of multinational IT and non IT companies and the owners and directors of UK small and medium sized enterprises. Click here for a full list of signatories.

8) What about the future ?

Over the next five years the UK will need more than a million new recruits with professional IT skills. The e-skills NTO led by and in line with employers will continue to address the skills gap that we are facing as well as implementing strategies to prevent repetition in the future, in line with the Strategic Plan for e-skills in the UK. Click here for Strategic Plan.