Skip the NI Direct Bar

Skills development and education vital to ICT

04 March 2008

Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey today stressed that skills development, quality education and training was vital to the success of the local ICT sector.

The Minister was addressing delegates attending ‘One Year On’, a conference hosted by e-skills UK, the Sector Skills Council for IT and Telecommunications.  The event was to celebrate the achievements of e-skills UK during the first year of the implementation of its Sector Skills Agreement in Northern Ireland.

The Minister said:  “My Department has recognised the importance of this sector to the local economy, by designating it as one of our priority skills areas.

“It is not just the specialist ICT companies which are reliant on good IT skills. Nowadays, virtually every company in Northern Ireland, large and small, uses IT for all sorts of business needs, from human resources to finance, from PR to marketing. Never has the need for increased skills in this sector been so critical, or had such a high profile.  

“The Sector Skills Councils have a critical role to play in progressing the skills agenda in Northern Ireland.  They are the voice of the employer and the role of the employer in improving the skills of our workforce is crucial – not only in articulating the skills needed now and in the future, but also in providing the opportunity for employees to be trained and up-skilled whilst in the workplace.”

The Minister reported that since the publication of the Department for Employment and Learning’s (DEL) Skills Strategy for Northern Ireland: ‘Success through Skills’ in 2004, a great deal of progress has been made in tackling a range of skills issues.  Six new area-based further education colleges have been established, the Strategy for Management and Leadership, ‘Leading …to Success’, has been published, the Department has introduced the Training for Success programme and established an employer-led skills system, which includes the Sector Skills Councils and Skills Expert Group.

The Minister recognised the important role being played by e-skills UK in the promotion of the ICT sector.  He said: “e-skills UK has recognised the importance of promoting the ICT sector and has initiated research into the development of a Career Attractiveness Strategy for Northern Ireland. This strategy will target various groups, such as school pupils who are thinking about career choices and students who have already made an initial vocational choice, but who may be considering switching to a career in ICT.  It will also encourage those who have started out in the industry to make it their career.”

The Department has provided financial support to e-skills UK, to carry out this research, which will inform the sector on the way forward for the careers attractiveness strategy.

This work is part of a broader programme of action being led by the Department, to address the short term skills needs of the software industry.  Working with e-skills UK, Invest Northern Ireland and Momentum (the ICT Trade Federation) the Department is seeking to develop and deliver a short term plan of action, specifically focussed on the short term skills needs of software companies. This plan of action will include activities to bring education providers and employers together, to work collectively on making sure the provision that is in place meets the needs of the economy. It also includes a commitment to increase the profile of the very successful Software Professional Conversion course and a promotional strategy to attract skilled professionals to live and work in Northern Ireland.

The Minister concluded: “I want to congratulate e-skills UK on its work so far in producing and developing its Sector Skills Agreement and I look forward to seeing the results of the research into the Careers Attractiveness Strategy.  My Department will continue to work with e-skills UK, and other major stakeholders, on the best way to implement this important piece of work.”

Endorsing the Ministers comments, Karen Price, OBE, Chief Executive of e-skills UK, said: “Making the most of technology is vital for the future competitiveness and quality of life in Northern Ireland. The employer-led Sector Skills Agreement for IT and Telecoms is uniting business, education and other stakeholders to help ensure Northern Ireland has the skills and the IT professional workforce it needs. We are delighted to be working with DEL on this important project.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

  1. e-skills UK is the Sector Skills Council for the IT and Telecoms industry and as such is the voice for employers for all IT-related strategic skills issues in Northern Ireland.
  2. It is responsible for the strategic development of the Sector Skills Agreement, all authoritative research on IT related skills, including Labour Market Information, the development of and currency of all IT related skills frameworks and industry standards.
  3. Following extensive consultation on strategy and priorities, e-skills has produced a Sector Skills Agreement for Northern Ireland, which will address the growing need for a suitably qualified workforce in this sector. This agreement, which was published in 2007, will address the medium to long term skills needs of the ICT sector as a whole.
  4. Media enquiries to the Department of Employment and Learning Press Office on 028 9025 7872.
  5. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715440 and your call will be returned.