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BCS reports increased demand for IT training and qualifications

The British Computer Society has reported a big increase in demand for IT training and qualifications.

According to the BCS, demand for its certified foundation and practitioner courses in IT Service Management have increased by 100 per cent and 44 per cent respectively over the last 12 months. Other areas in which the BCS report growth are software testing, where demand for its related qualifications has grown by nearly 20 per cent, and businesses systems development - up by 44 per cent. The BCS believes that IT professionals are seeking to establish new skills sets to further their edge in a fragmented recruitment market.

BCS chief executive David Clarke said: "The Society's view is that there has suddenly been a huge growth in expectation from the UK IT profession, following a period of disillusionment in the wake of numerous high profile IT project failures and programme overspends; this means that only the true professional will now advance.

"Things are therefore changing fast. Reskilling is the order of the day while professional accreditation is also being sought, exemplified by the 1000 new members that the Society is currently recruiting every month.

"The BCS has led a long standing campaign to improve the quality and standing of IT professionals and is already achieving significant success, particularly through its CITP membership grade. This is now being hailed as the first radical step to put the IT Profession on par with other chartered professions such as engineers, architects and lawyers."

The BCS has also reported a twenty per cent increase in membership in just over 12 months. The increase is the largest in the BCS’s 50 year history and takes member numbers past the 50,000 mark.

"The UK IT profession is currently battling against the threat of offshoring of traditional IT skills on one hand while striving to meet the demands for new skills sets from employers on the other," said Clarke. "Professional IT system design and implementation as well as software testing and security challenges have all created major employment opportunities for those with the right new skills and professional qualifications. This in turn has created an enormous upsurge for the status and recognition that BCS membership affords."

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