Tech skills shortage: UK must act now

The UK must address the IT skills shortage if it is to remain competitive and deal with emerging rivals such as China.

That's according to a report from the Information Age Partnership (IAP) i2010 working group, which recommends government, industry and academia should improve the way they collaborate in order for the UK to stay ahead.

With the UK recently dropping outside the top five countries for innovation - according to the World Intellectual Property Institute - for the first time in 30 years, the group's work has taken on more urgency.

Speaking at the launch of the 'Delivering i2010' report, industry minister Margaret Hodge said: "There's a structural difficulty in getting people to take IT qualifications – we're doing a lot, it's not enough."

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And Mike Rodd, director at the British Computer Society, added: "The skills agenda is really serious - there's a pipeline problem." As well as IT skills, workers also require business skills to back them up, he said.

He also emphasised the UK's strength in R&D but warned this could also be challenged. He said: "We let that research base drift at our peril."

Nigel Payne of e-skills UK welcomed the report in the efforts to tackle the skills shortage. Showing the scale of the skills shortage, he cited a 43 per cent drop in those studying computer science at A-Level between 2001 and 2006.

But despite this he remains positive about the current situation. Payne said: "We're building on excellence, not starting from zero."

The report contains 22 recommendations to maintain the UK's current position, including the development of a government strategy to make students aware of the national importance of IT.

The emphasis was also put on academic institutions to add a more commercial element to research while businesses are encouraged to assess future skills needs and work with higher education to achieve this.

The report also encourages government, industry and academia groups to boost public awareness of IT achievements in the UK.