The government has announced its support for an employer-backed action plan to ensure that businesses have access to the IT staff they need over the next 10 years.
The E-Skills Sector Skills Agreement, due to be published in on 20th April 2005, aims to make business and project management skills a central part of IT training and education in the UK.
The new Sector Skills Agreements, strongly endorsed by the Government's Skills White Paper ensures that education and training more closely meets the real needs and demands of industry. They are being developed by all sector skills councils, including e-skills UK, in partnership with employers, unions, trade organisations, colleges and universities, funding bodies, and qualifications authorities.
Karen Price, CEO of e-skills UK, hailed the forthcoming Sector Skills Agreements as the best demonstration of concrete action on skills which puts employers’ needs first, saying:
"Sector Skills Agreements will establish unprecedented collaboration between employers, educators, government and stakeholders, uniting behind a common strategy to transform the UK skills landscape. The Sector Skills Agreement for IT, which will be published in April 2005, will ensure all individuals in the UK have access to the IT skills needed in today's e-economy."
Further Information: E-Skills UK