Never mind that ICT is involved in more and more aspects of everyday life, which is why children need the skills to use it, it turns out it’s a huge area of employment in its own right. One in 18 Brits works in ICT and the sector is expected to grow four times faster than the rest of the economy over the next decade.
According to a new report by e-skills UK, the IT workforce has continued to expand despite the financial crisis and the threat of a double-dip recession. While the UK workforce overall is forecast to grow by 0.3%, the IT sector will grow about 1.2% annually.
Not all areas of the IT sector are looking positive, however. While ICT manager, IT strategy and planning, and software professional roles will see growth, the number of lesser skilled roles will continue to shrink. In addition, the telecoms industry will decline in size by 0.5 per cent annually.
While the overall growth is good news for the country’s 1.1 million IT workers, it could exacerbate the skills gap. The number of students taking computing-related subjects has fallen despite job prospects.
Although the new IT diploma could improve the situation, recent school leavers aren't the main talent pool for the IT sector. Indeed some 57,800 of the 110,500 who join the IT sector come from other areas, rather than education or unemployment, the report says. Consequently, the proportion of workers under 30 in the sector has fallen from 33% in 2001 to 22% last year.
IT pros are well educated, with 61% holding a degree. Gender "remains a significant and worsening issue" though, with women accounting for only 17% of the ICT workforce.