6. FUTURE SKILLS NEEDS

6.2 Regional gap analyses

Sourcing the Future IT Service Skills Needs in the East of England

The aim of this project was to assess potential sources of recruitment into IT careers from various educational streams, against the skills needs of around 400 employers in the East of England region.

Partners in the project included the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), Cambridge Regional College, Harlow College, The College of West Anglia, Basildon College and Colchester Institute.

The project established trends in education supply over the years to 1999 (the latest data available at the time of this work), and up to date information form employers on skills issues. Findings include:

• 350 Computer Science graduates entered an IT-related industry in the East of England in 1999 - an increase of 59% over the three years from 1997.
• The number of different IT-related courses offered by Further Education colleges in the East of England has risen from 163 courses in 1997 to 303 in 1999.
• The number of IT-related GCSEs obtained by pupils (grades A-C) in schools in the region has increased by 375% over the four years to 1999 (from 917 in 1996 to 4360 in 1999).
• The number of IT-related A levels obtained by pupils (grades A-E) in schools in the region has increased by a similar percentage (from 252 in 1996 to 1213 in 1999).
• Employers across the region reported that only 54% of their IT professionals are considered to be fully proficient at their current job – indicating that nearly half their staff have skills gaps in their current roles.
  

The next stage of the project is for the e-skills NTO to bring together key players within industry and education to create a dynamic and sustainable task force for the region with the objective of closing IT skills gaps.

Contact: Sarah Steele on or write to .

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