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e-skills UK announces initiative to revitalise interest in IT-related degrees and careers

e-skills UK, the Sector Skills Council for IT and telecoms, has announced a new initiative that aims to transform the attitudes of young people to IT-related education and careers, and support universities in developing and promoting courses that reflect the needs of IT professional careers.

The 'Revitalise IT' initiative is supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and is designed to bring together employers, universities and schools to help prepare the UK's future IT professionals.

Karen Price, CEO of e-skills UK, said: "The IT and telecoms sector makes a vital contribution to the UK's long term prosperity in an increasingly competitive global economy. The IT professional workforce in the UK has almost doubled in the last 12 years: from 550,000 to around one million today, and will continue to grow strongly over the coming decade. At the same time, every year fewer young people choose to undertake an IT-related degree, with a drop of around half (46%) since 2001. There is a mismatch here that urgently needs to be addressed.

"Strengthening relationships between employers, universities and schools is at the heart of e-skills UK's campaign to make the UK world class in technology skills. Through this initiative, we will work with universities to help them build on their success and identify with growth markets – such as the increasing need for business-oriented, customer-focused IT professionals. We will also work with schools and young people to raise awareness and understanding of a future in IT."

e-skills UK says 'Revitalise IT' is based on two complementary themes:

* 'AmbITion' focuses on changing attitudes and stimulating demand among young people for technology-related degrees and careers. It will include a special emphasis on widening participation in higher education and improving the gender balance in IT.

* The 'Catalyst' programme focuses on degree curricula, promoting the capabilities graduates develop from different types of IT-related degree courses and encouraging curriculum development in areas of industry growth.

John Selby, HEFCE director for widening participation, said: "The Higher Education Funding Council for England welcomes the opportunity to support this important initiative. Our objectives include helping universities and colleges to prepare for long term sustainability and ensuring that the UK retains world class learning, teaching and research in subjects of strategic importance, such as IT. This new initiative will contribute to both these objectives; deepening engagement between employers and Higher Education and between higher education institutions and schools, driving increased uptake of degree courses valued by both employers and learners, and widening participation and inclusion in Higher Education."

Partners already committed to 'Revitalise IT' include Vodafone, University College London and City University London.

Nick Read, chief executive, Vodafone UK, said: "We are delighted to contribute to the shaping of 'Revitalise IT'. Changing perceptions of IT degrees and careers means capturing the excitement that students already have for everyday technology - for example mobile phones, music downloads and social networks - and recreating this enthusiasm in the classroom. Vodafone believes this initiative can make an important contribution to the nation's future."

Richard Pettinger, senior lecturer, Department of Management Science and Innovation, UCL said: "The UK needs to attract more young people into technology, and help future IT professionals to develop the blend of skills they will need for successful careers. With its focus on a collaborative approach to curriculum development, ‘Revitalise IT' represents a positive and important step towards achieving this goal."

Professor David Bolton, dean of the School of Informatics, City University London, said: "This initiative is timely and relevant to the future of computing in Higher Education in the UK. It tackles a number of areas which City University also believes to be key: creating a larger pool of talent to recruit from, improving careers advice, building on employer relationships, and being able to showcase clearly to employers what graduates can do."

This Revitalise IT initiative will focus primarily on London and the South East of England and will run from 2007-2009. It is expected to involve more than 40,000 students. e-skills UK hope that success will stimulate and lead to similar programmes in other parts of the UK.

e-skills UK says Revitalise IT will build on e-skills UK's existing employer-supported education programmes including the Information Technology Management for Business (ITMB) degree course, the new Diploma in IT for 14-19 year olds, and the Computer Clubs for Girls which already involves over half of all secondary schools in England.

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