The Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls has visited Tower Hamlets College in London to meet potential Diploma in IT students and their teachers. He also met with representatives from companies that have been working closely with e-skills UK, educators and awarding bodies in the development of the Diploma.

Ed Balls thanked the employers for their contribution and support saying: "I'm delighted to see so many organisations working together to make the Diploma in IT a reality. With this support, I believe that Diplomas could emerge as the jewel of our education system.

"Information Technology is one of our economy's key growth areas and it's vital that our education system gives young people the right skills for UK companies to compete globally."

Employers present at the Tower Hamlets event included BT, Cisco, EDS, Lehman Brothers, LogicaCMG, Microsoft and Vodafone.

To find out more about the Diploma in IT, please visit www.e-skills.com/diploma