To those concerned with the IT user skills of the UK’s workforce:

With almost all UK organisations utilising business technology, IT is widely acknowledged as the new literacy requirement of the 21st Century. The UK needs an employee base that is competent in and enthusiastic about the use of IT. This means increasing the demand from employees and potential employees for IT user skills, and helping people access quality programmes to improve these skills. To make sure employers have access to a workforce that has appropriate IT user skills for the Informative Age, we need a plan determining clear priorities for action, that aligns educators and government with employer needs. This strategy document defines that plan.

With the guidance of the IT Literacy Board, comprising executives from education establishments, leading employers and government agencies, the e-skills NTO will lead a UK agenda that includes:

• Increasing the demand for IT user skills.
  
  
• Improving the access and quality of IT user skills training.
  
  
• Addressing needs for IT user qualifications that are valued by employers.
  
  
• Providing authoritative skills intelligence regarding UK needs for IT user skills.

Please download our plan.

Consultation was open until 22 February 2001 but you can still contact us for feedback and to get involved.