ICT and skills vital for economic recovery, says BT chief

15:03 3rd August 2009

Information Communication Technologies (ICT) and employee skill levels are increasingly important in helping firms recover from the recession, says a top BT executive.

Writing in the Public Service Review Chris Clark, the company's chief executive in Northern Ireland, has stressed the importance firms must place on keeping their employees well-trained.

Mr Clark explained that businesses are "looking to ICT to provide the solution to issues of all sizes".

Some companies may not have realised just how important the benefits of using ICTs are, he noted.

Firms will also benefit from keeping their workers abreast of the latest developments and insisting they develop new skills.

"Skills drive innovation, productivity and entrepreneurial activity, and ultimately economic recovery and sustainability," he commented.

Workers in programming careers can to keep up-to-date with developments in their field with distance learning as well as classroom-based courses.

These can be of great help to the increasing number of people who are choosing to work from home and enjoy more flexible hours.

Alexandra Jones of the Work Foundation told the Observer: "The number of people working part-time has increased significantly to 7.53 million in the three months to May 2009." ADNFCR-1667-ID-19293687-ADNFCR