UK IT market at risk

Alarming numbers of students are dropping out of IT education, resulting in Matthew Poyiadgi, European vice president at CompTIA, calling on the industry to be more involved in shaping a technology-focused curriculum.

“By showing people what IT can be used for, you show them what a job in IT might look like, you excite them by giving them the chance to use their skills to address real world problems, and you map out a tangible route to a successful career.”

CompTIA has already started working with education institutions and industries to make the IT certifications mean something in the IT world. Areas of industry need to be pinpointed – such as green and entry level IT, and issues of security and networking.
Microsoft, HP and organisations such as schools and the US Army have all been involved.

The UK’s position in the global IT market could be weakened by the serious short fall of IT graduates coming through. It could lead to companies having no choice but to outsource overseas. This would be a real shame as at present the UK is considered a strong contender in the IT global market.

In the US alone there are over 300,000 IT jobs waiting to be filled. With the IT industry constantly expanding (cloud-computing for one), it could be a potential gold mine for graduating students – if they have received the right education. The IT industry needs to be involved from the start to ensure graduates, and top up education, is appropriate to the real world.

Check out The Cyber Security Challenge - a government-backed initiative to bridge the skills gap in the security industry.