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IT skills to help the UK out of recession?

More investment needs to be made in IT skills to help the country with its economic recovery, a study conducted by the British Computer Society (BCS) has found.

The provision of IT skills is more crucial than an improved infrastructure, senior IT managers revealed, with more emphasis needed on training people in how to use computers effectively.

Investing in IT skills could help give the UK a competitive advantage when it does come out of recession, providing the necessary provisions are made early on, said BCS chief executive officer David Clarke.

"Our ability to process, share and manage information will determine the success of our society. To be successful, we need a high performing IT education system and a population with the IT skills to be productive, empowered citizens," he commented.

It seems the BCS is not alone in its opinions. A recent global study carried out by Deloitte found that many business leaders believe their IT programmes are falling short of the mark, as departments do not have the necessary skills to cope with the tasks.

This has a knock-on effect for other aspects of a business, Deloitte acknowledged, as 53 per cent believe it hinders the quality of the service they give and the same percentage has seen an impact on customer relationships.

It is not only the immediate problems which businesses are facing that are causing problems. Half of respondents to the Deloitte survey said they were unable to innovate as a result of lacking IT training, which in turn affects the strategic core of an organisation.

In order for the UK to emerge from the recession stronger, it seems that companies have little time to make changes to their IT provision.

The BCS survey found that 64 per cent of people believed the country will be coming out of recession by the end of next year. However, 66 per cent believe faster broadband roll-out is key to this.

A recent study from Broadband Expert highlighted that many of the country's mobile broadband providers in particular are failing to deliver on their advertised speeds. Without the reliability of connections, some companies may find it difficult to operate, which further emphasises the need for people to be well-qualified in their IT jobs.

Despite official statistics showing the unemployment rate in the UK to be 7.9 per cent for the three months leading up to July, Deloitte nevertheless believes there is a shortage of competent people in IT jobs.

Jeff Schwartz, principal of Deloitte Consulting, commented: "Even in the midst of hiring freezes and layoffs, organizations continue to face talent shortages in critical areas such as IT."

The BCS named IT skills shortages as one of the biggest issues likely to face society in the future, alongside other issues such as a lack of direction for IT professionals.

Many of the organisations questioned said they are looking to expand their workforces over the next three to five years, which should give extra incentive to those thinking of taking up computer courses.

During this period, 47 per cent of businesses anticipate a growth of at least five per cent in the number of their IT employees. Deloitte stated that the pool of talent in many countries was starting to decrease in size.

It appears that the provision of IT skills is important not only for the development of businesses but for the economy as a whole.

People who are competent in the field seem to be in short supply and, with IT showing itself to be the future for many companies, this is making it as crucial as ever for IT careers to be considered.