UK faces IT skills shortage

MPs have been considering a report which warns that UK schools do not have the human and material resources to teach young people digital skills to the necessary levels. Nearly a quarter of equipment in schools is not working properly at any one time or is substandard. Staff are an even bigger problem. Nearly two thirds of Computer Science teachers do not have an adequate qualification, and nearly a quarter of posts are vacant anyway.

Nine in ten jobs require workers to have digital skills. Even manual jobs which involved very little paperwork have seen digital skills creep in over recent years. Metre readers, electricians, gas workers and delivery workers are all likely to have to record their jobs – as well as managing their work schedules – on hand held devices.

The Commons Science and Technology Committee has called on the Government to address the problem as a matter of urgency. Not only do the problems in schools need addressing, but also businesses should be required to invest in training the workforce, it says. The Government is due to bring out a Digital Strategy in the coming weeks which will spell out how it intends to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of developing IT skills in its population.

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