6. SKILLS INTELLIGENCE

6.1 Skills Management

Skills Foresight for IT4all

This project produced Labour Market Intelligence and Skills Foresight for the IT end user community. This is part of the e-skills NTO’s aim to provide employers, government, education and training providers with the information they require to understand IT skills needs, and to inform education and training strategy.

This report ‘Skills Foresight for IT4all’ brings together existing research and seeks to:

  • Define and explore the nature of the IT user community
  • Identify skills shortages gaps and training needs
  • Determine future skills needs for the UK workforce
  • Recommend action on the findings

The research shows that:

  • 75% of employed people in the UK (circa 20 million) now use IT at work.
  • Between 18 and 20 million people in the UK have access to the Internet.
  • 60% of people believe that IT skills are essential to progress in their job or to get a new job.
  • The majority of individuals think they have only ‘basic’ or ‘low intermediate’ IT skills. In comparison to other key skills, IT was rated with the lowest ability scores.
  • 28% of organisations believe that their employees do not possess the basic IT skills required to meet business objectives.
  • 63% of businesses in the UK offer IT training to their workforce, yet over half the IT training taken by individuals does not lead to any formal qualification.
  • 98% of people across society believe that computer skills will be ‘essential to the work of today’s children in the future’.

The research also shows that there is currently a lack of sound basic information to size and place IT user population needs. In addition, problems with the consistency of information in the public domain and the definitions of IT user skills can confuse the picture, and lessen the impact of messages about the importance and levels of IT skill required in the workplace. It is clear however that individuals without basic skills in the use of IT are increasingly disenfranchised from the employment market.

The e-skills NTO proposes an assessment of business technology trends and international comparisons as a basis for defining priorities and measurement processes for IT user skills improvement in the UK.

Contact: Liz Addison on or

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