e-skills NTO reveals Image of IT industry plagued by off-putting perceptions of ‘nerds’, ‘geeks’ and ‘glass ceilings’
e-skills NTO, the National Training Organisation for IT skills, has announced the results of research examining how and why the Image of careers in IT have been formed. The report paints a bleak picture of a profession which is misunderstood and characterised by stereotypes that fail to attract recruits, yet in need of another million IT professionals within the next five years.
The report concludes that employers must take a long-term approach to re-branding and re-marketing the IT industry if it is to fill the growing skills gap. e-skills NTO, in partnership with the government and IT employers, is launching a campaign to address the negative image of IT. The campaign is supported by Patricia Hewitt MP, the Minister of State for small business and e-commerce and Michael Wills, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Learning and Technology at DfEE.
e-skills NTO found that the Image of careers in IT, amongst young people, and particularly women, puts them off pursuing careers in IT. Careers in IT were seen as highly technical, complicated and suitable for ‘nerds’ or ‘geeks’. Jobs in IT were not seen as exciting or dynamic.
In addition IT was viewed as an almost exclusively male dominated environment with poorer opportunities and rewards for women. Only 5% of young women consider entering the IT industry, making it one of the least likely industries to be considered as a career by women (26% consider medicine and 14% law). The report attributes this low rate of take-up to a lack of industry knowledge (40%), a lack of interest (25%) and the perception that the jobs are boring (25%).
"We’ve discovered a significant gap between how people view technology, particularly mobile phones and the Internet and how they view careers in IT. ‘Technology’ is viewed as cutting edge and future looking but ‘computers’ are seen as boring and the term ‘IT’ is only associated with computers. People who work in IT are seen as computer nerds who have no other interest and no interpersonal skills. There are a number of reasons why this image has been formed and e-skills employers now recognise that they have to take action to change it if they are going to be able to recruit the type of people they need," said Anne Cantelo, project manager, e-skills NTO.
"Negative and misrepresentative perceptions of the IT industry mainly come from a lack of knowledge, cemented by images from the media. Experience of the industry is a key driver of opinion and those with little or no knowledge are the most likely to perceive IT work as ‘boring’ and too technical. The e-skills NTO Image Project aims to change the negative perceptions of the IT sector, making it more attractive to women and young people," said Alan Stevens managing director, government accounts, Electronic Data Systems.
Summary of e-skills NTO Image research findings are available on request.
About e-skills NTO
As the National Training Organisation (NTO) for the Information Age, e-skills NTO is a not for profit membership organisation with responsibility for the whole IT remit. Its role is to represent the IT industry as the national body for the sector and to improve the IT user skills of the entire UK workforce while addressing the skills needs of employers of IT professionals across UK industry.
e-skills NTO works closely with industry, education and government partners to identify and address key issues in order to improve workforce competence and maximise business competitiveness, and one of its main responsibilities is to develop and oversee standards and qualifications for IT users and professionals at a national level.
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For more information please contact:
Nyarrin Scanlan / Hugh Mark
AxiCom
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Anne Cantelo
e-skills NTO