UK – 7th October, 2008 -  A National Skills Academy for IT, announced today and due to open in 2009, will bring together an unprecedented, sector-wide collaboration of employers, educators and stakeholders to meet the skills needs of the IT workforce.

Information technology (IT) skills are critical to the growth of the UK economy. There are currently over a million IT professionals in the UK, with 141,000 new recruits needed every year. The IT industry is predicted to grow at five times the rate of the workforce as a whole and recent research suggests that optimising the ICT capabilities of the UK economy is worth as much as £35 billion a year.

Karen Price, Chief Executive of e-skills UK said: “e-skills UK is delighted to be working with employers across the sector to get the skills academy off the ground. It offers a unique opportunity for employers to take collective responsibility for the skills and accreditation of the IT workforce, with innovative development programmes and qualifications that are valued by the sector. I believe this will play a major role in helping the UK become a world leader in IT in the coming years.”

Peter Butler, Head of Learning for the BT Group, said: “BT’s engagement with the National Skills Academy is based on the premise that by collaborating with other employers we can take a significant step in ensuring that the sector develops the skills of its people in order to remain competitive in a global economy. We are delighted that the government has acknowledged the important role that the IT and Telecoms sector plays in the success of UK PLC and is supporting the further development of the National Skills Academy. We are looking forward to working with e-skills UK on this exciting agenda.”

Skills Secretary John Denham said: “Now, more than ever, we need to develop innovative training that inspires and empowers a new generation to realise their ambitions. A new National Skills Academy for IT will help build a world-beating workforce that will improve productivity and competitiveness – not just among new recruits but within the existing workforce.”

The National Skills Academy for IT will focus in particular on accelerating the productivity of new recruits into the workforce, addressing the training needs of the existing IT professional workforce, and enabling the workforce to achieve external recognition of skills.

Through the skills academy, employers will have access to high quality, cost-effective programmes, and be able to source training and internationally-relevant qualifications from trusted providers. Employers will be able to share proven training across the sector and have their own training accredited. Providers of education and training will find it easier to understand and respond to employer demand, and individuals will be able to achieve accreditation and more easily access valued training and qualifications.

UK – 5th October, 2008 – A National Skills Academy for IT, announced yesterday and due to open in 2009, will bring together an unprecedented, sector-wide collaboration of employers, educators and stakeholders to meet the skills needs of the IT workforce.

Information technology (IT) skills are critical to the growth of the UK economy. There are currently over a million IT professionals in the UK, with 141,000 new recruits needed every year. The IT industry is predicted to grow at five times the rate of the workforce as a whole and recent research suggests that optimising the ICT capabilities of the UK economy is worth as much as £35 billion a year.

Karen Price, Chief Executive of e-skills UK said: “e-skills UK is delighted to be working with employers across the sector to get the skills academy off the ground. It offers a unique opportunity for employers to take collective responsibility for the skills and accreditation of the IT workforce, with innovative development programmes and qualifications that are valued by the sector. I believe this will play a major role in helping the UK become a world leader in IT in the coming years.”

Peter Butler, Head of Learning for the BT Group, said: “BT’s engagement with the National Skills Academy is based on the premise that by collaborating with other employers we can take a significant step in ensuring that the sector develops the skills of its people in order to remain competitive in a global economy. We are delighted that the government has acknowledged the important role that the IT and Telecoms sector plays in the success of UK PLC and is supporting the further development of the National Skills Academy. We are looking forward to working with e-skills UK on this exciting agenda.”

Skills Secretary John Denham said: “Now, more than ever, we need to develop innovative training that inspires and empowers a new generation to realise their ambitions. A new National Skills Academy for IT will help build a world-beating workforce that will improve productivity and competitiveness – not just among new recruits but within the existing workforce.”

The National Skills Academy for IT will focus in particular on accelerating the productivity of new recruits into the workforce, addressing the training needs of the existing IT professional workforce, and enabling the workforce to achieve external recognition of skills.

Through the skills academy, employers will have access to high quality, cost-effective programmes, and be able to source training and internationally-relevant qualifications from trusted providers. Employers will be able to share proven training across the sector and have their own training accredited. Providers of education and training will find it easier to understand and respond to employer demand, and individuals will be able to achieve accreditation and more easily access valued training and qualifications.

Source: PublicTechnology.Net

Ireland – 15th May, 2008 – The skills challenge facing the Irish economy was the subject of a major seminar organised jointly by the National College of Ireland (NCI) and the National Centre for Partnership and Performance (NCPP), and held in Dublin on May 15.

The ‘Learning at Work’ seminar was chaired by NCPP director Lucy Fallon-Byrne and was addressed by Minister for Lifelong Learning Seán Haughey, Leo Casey of the Centre for Research and Innovation in Learning and Teaching and Prof Chip Bruce, National College of Ireland.

Four national initiatives, designed to promote and encourage learning at work, were showcased also at the seminar, providing the 100-plus delegates with real-life examples of innovative responses to the future skills challenge.

Among the issues discussed at the seminar were:

• The role of workplace learning in driving and growing the Irish economy;
• The opportunities for, and obstacles to, workplace learning that exist in Ireland today;
• Effective ways of engaging employers and employees to ensure Ireland is equipped for the future skills challenge.

National College of Ireland president Paul Mooney said the message was simple:

“For Ireland Inc. to succeed, the barriers to workplace learning must be identified and systematically removed. To survive and prosper in a tougher global environment, we need to collectively up our game to out-think the competition.

“The highest performing companies of the future are the ones that are becoming engaged in workplace learning initiatives today. The time is now and there is zero room for complacency on this. The future is decided by those who sense change and actually start to do something to respond to this. For everyone else, the time bomb is ticking.”

A new DVD was launched by Minister Haughey. Produced by NCPP, the DVD profiles the practical experiences of five Irish public and private-sector organisations that have recognised and embraced workplace learning as an enabler of change. Their stories illustrate the value of promoting human talent and creativity in the workplace, and make a powerful business case for lifelong learning and workplace training and development.  Upskilling is now a necessity.

Copies of the DVD are available (free of charge) on request from the National Centre for Partnership and Performance.  Simply drop an email to Conor (conor@ncpp.ie) with your contact details, and he’ll post them out to you as soon as possible.

Source: Education MATTERS