News in Brief

e-skills UK responds to Leitch Review on Skills to 2020

Karen Price, OBE, CEO of e-skills UK welcomes the Leitch Review on Skills to 2020:

“e-skills UK welcomes the focus of the Leitch Review on the critical importance of higher level skills and increased employer involvement in the design of skills and training.

“Globalisation is driving unprecedented change in the UK economy, and increasing levels of technology-related skills are absolutely central to the UK’s long term prosperity and productivity. As a percentage of the total economy, IT-intensive industries represent 45% of total Gross Value Added (GVA) of the UK. Companies of all sizes and across all sectors increasingly use technology for everything from business processes to customer relationship management.

“The UK urgently needs people who can develop, implement, manage and use technology at ever more sophisticated levels.”

Larry Hirst, Chief Executive IBM United Kingdom, and chair of e-skills UK says:

 “We wholeheartedly support the recommendation to strengthen the work of Sector Skills Councils such as e-skills UK.  Through e-skills UK, employers across the IT & Telecoms industry and employers of IT professionals in other industries are working together with Government and education to ensure the UK has the technology skills it needs.  As a result of the Review, we expect to be able to accelerate the implementation of e-skills UK’s strategy and increase our impact to the benefit of the economy, businesses and individuals.” 

Paul Coby, CIO of British Airways and chair of e-skills UK’s CIO Board says:

"Like many countries, the UK faces immense challenges - but also opportunities - in the new global business environment.  As employers, we need access to a world-class pool of technology talent in order to seize those opportunities.

"Employers must work together with Government and educators to raise the level of technology-related skills, right across the UK.   Technology skills matter to the performance and prospects of everyone in the UK; whether they are an IT professional designing new systems, a leader in business or the public sector managing IT-enabled change, or a person who simply uses IT in their day to day work and life."

To access the full report visit www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/leitch.

e-skills UK is the Sector Skills Council for IT and Telecoms and part of the Skills for Business network of 25 employer-led Sector Skills Councils.

 

Posted on 06 Dec 2006