News in Brief

e-skills UK release new research to coincide with Learning at Work Day (25 May)

New research from the latest e-skills UK quarterly ICT Inquiry released today, shows that nearly seven out of ten (67%) employers consider the level of IT user skills held by their staff to have a 'large' or 'defining' impact on their companies' productivity . The findings have been released to coincide with Learning at Work Day which takes place on Thursday 25 May.

Karen Price, CEO of e-skills UK comments: "As we celebrate Learning at Work Day, it is encouraging to see that UK businesses are recognising the positive impact that sound IT user skills can have on their bottom line. "

To help organisations improve the IT user skills of their workforce in a cost effective way, e-skills UK has worked with employers to develop the e-skills Passport - an online skills management tool that helps individuals and their employers identify IT User skills needs, plan appropriate training and record progress.  The e-skills Passport is the preferred tool for monitoring progress towards an Information Technology Qualification (ITQ)."

Other findings from the 2006 Q1 Inquiry show:

• Around six out of ten (59%) employers report that the level of IT professional-related skills held by staff have a 'large' or 'defining' impact on a company's productivity
• Only one in ten (11%) companies calculates the Return on Investment of IT expenditure

Software and hardware

• The single most 'defining' impact on productivity was thought to come from the availability of PCs - a view shared by around half (46%) of employers
• According to employers, the main areas for increased IT expenditure between Q4/05 and Q4/06 will be IT hardware (with 42% of firms predicting a spending increase) and IT software licensing (32%)

Vacancies

• The majority of advertised vacancies for IT professionals were in systems development (30%) and systems design (24%), followed by technical support (16%). PC support and software engineering each accounted for 6% of vacancies

Market issues

• When asked about the key issues facing IT departments towards the end of 2005 and into 2006, top of the list were technical issues (23%), followed by business issues at 10% and operations issues at 8%

The latest issue is available at www.e-skills.com/ictinquiry.

Posted on 24 May 2006