Industry overview

IT industry overview

IT professionals with the right skills are always in demand.  The industry continues to need bright people who want to take the initiative, whether it be in developing new business processes, software applications, sales or training.

Apart from the really technical roles, working in the IT industry is all about people. Employers are particularly interested in people with problem solving skills who are strong communicators and have the ability to work in teams. The opportunities for career advancement, self development and financial reward are excellent.

IT industry at a glance

The IT industry designs, develops, manufactures, sells, installs and maintains computer-based information systems.  From desktop publishing to power stations, IT is now in almost every part of modern life.

There are 100 - 120,000 IT businesses in the UK, most of which are small, with fewer than 5 employees.  The Gross Value Added (GVA) by the IT industry is circa £57,000 million per annum.

IT workforce

• 21 million people use IT at work every day in the UK
• The UK has around 1.1 million IT professionals
• Approximately half work in IT companies and half work in other industries [manufacturing, finance and banking, public sector, transport, storage and communications being the largest employers]

Last modified: 27 Jun 2007