Posted on: 09/05/11
e-skills UK today welcomes the findings of the annual CBI/EDI Education and Skills Survey, which predicts increased employer investment in skills and greater collaboration between business and education.
Despite the dip in skills investment over the last couple of years that accompanied the recession, the survey suggests that the outlook is becoming increasingly positive - this year 41% of employers indicated that they plan to increase their investment in training, compared with just 14% in last year’s survey. Similarly, the employer appetite for apprenticeships also seems to be on the rise, with 55% already involved in delivering apprenticeships and 17% looking to get involved in the next few years.
The survey does, however, highlight the need to support small businesses in particular to offer apprenticeship schemes, with many small firms indicating that they still face barriers that prevent them being able to offer apprenticeships.
Karen Price, CEO of e-skills UK, said: “We’re very pleased to see signs that businesses are ready to invest more in skills development and training. The growing interest in and uptake of apprenticeships is especially encouraging – particularly the focus on the need to prioritise higher level apprenticeships in STEM areas to support long term economic recovery and growth. And because we know from our research that exploiting the full potential of technology could boost the economy by an additional £50 billion over the next 5-7 years, it’s vital that we prioritise investment in the skills of the IT professionals who can realise this.“
At the same time, we need to continue to work with industry and government to support businesses to develop the skills of their own workforce - helping them to overcome any obstacles that may prevent them from offering staff the training they need to drive their business forward.”
The Employer Apprenticeship Service from the National Skills Academy for IT is designed to overcome precisely these obstacles, providing small businesses with a cost effective means of recruiting and developing their workforce by helping them to offer apprenticeships. Employers can choose the right scheme to suit their business needs from e-skills UK’s suite of apprenticeship programmes – ranging from technical support and technical sales to software and web developer apprenticeships.
Business and Education
Other encouraging findings in today’s survey include evidence of increasing collaboration between employers and higher education to ensure that today’s graduates have the skills they need to succeed in business. The survey finds that employability skills are the single most important consideration for 82% of businesses when recruiting graduates, with 70% of employers saying that university students need to do more to prepare themselves to be effective in the workplace.
To address this and help ensure students are work ready, businesses appear to be more willing than ever to work with universities to offer industrial placement years, careers advice, and input into the curriculum. Similarly employers have indicated their desire to become more involved with schools and colleges, offering careers advice and work experience to young people.
Karen Price continues: “Employer engagement with universities, schools and colleges is essential if we’re to ensure that our future workforce has the skills needed for the UK economy to flourish. And with our research showing that over half a million new entrants will be needed into the IT workforce over the next 5 years, it’s particularly important that the technology sector works with education to ensure a healthy pipeline of future talent into the industry.
“With programmes such as the e-skills Internship, and the renowned employer led Information Technology Management for Business (ITMB) Degree, we’re bringing together business and higher education to produce highly employable graduates who can deliver real business value to an organisation from the outset. And with initiatives like Computer Clubs for Girls (CC4G) and IT Ambassadors in schools, we’re helping young people, particularly girls, to understand just how rewarding and exciting a career in IT can be.”
Find out more about the Employer Apprenticeship Service from the National Skills Academy for IT
Read more about e-skills UK’s work with universities and schools
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