Part 4.4 Resourcing and partners

The e-skills NTO operates with a core staff of 34 employees and company secondees, all of whom are dedicated to delivering this strategy. They come from a range of backgrounds, for example staff who have joined from industry held recent roles such as a technical specialist, an international IT company executive and a project manager from a small consultancy company. Staff from education include a commercial IT training manager and a university careers advisor. Diversity and current industry experience are strongly encouraged.

Established to deliver on the individual projects and on priorities set by the Boards, these have wide-ranging membership from e-skills NTO staff, employers, education, awarding bodies, government agencies, training providers and careers services.

There is also a structure in place to understand the needs of and work with partners in each nation and region of the UK.

Development of the partner network is the chief method for delivering to the extended responsibilities of the NTO. Growth within the organisation will be handled through the recruitment of secondees and project-specific consultants into the relevant teams, with core staff managing the mainstream operations.

The delivery of this e-skills strategy is dependent on the collaborative working of a number of powerful organisations. In addition to the employers, the government and government agencies considered in 'Stakeholder needs' (see Annex A ), the e-skills NTO works with the following in particular:

• Awarding Bodies: for the implementation of qualifications for e-skills, and the maintenance of quality standards.
• Private Training Providers: who deliver training to improve e-skills.
• Higher Education, Further Education and Schools: to collaborate on the sharing of information with students, and for strengthening the link between curricula and employer needs.
• The Computing Services and Software Association (CSSA): offering access to e-skills initiatives to their employer members.
• Other National Training Organisations: for joint projects to address e-skills needs in target sectors.

Other partners and contacts are noted in Annex B.

"CSSA's CEO member surveys continue to highlight the shortage of appropriately skilled people as a major barrier to growth of their software / IT Services companies. We wholeheartedly welcome the e-skills NTO's leadership on the issue and support this practical action plan to tackle the long-standing problem." John Higgins Director General, The Computing Services and Software Association