News and features

Mon, 8 Dec 2008

ICT skills 'needed'

Small businesses are struggling to find employees with the right ICT skills, according to a report.

KPMG says companies in the UK and worldwide are noticing a shortage of workers who have the skills needed for "modern business".

Computing SA website quoted Edge Zarrella, global head of IT advisory services at KPMG as saying there was a requirement for specialists who can work across different systems.

One issue he noted is the slowdown in attracting maths, engineering and computer science graduates into the sector.

He added: "And people who had left the sector are having to be tempted back into employment to work on the older systems which newer graduates are not being taught how to use."

Older employees who have considerable experience could undergo training to bring them up to speed with the latest ICT know-how.

They do not have to take time off to do this - learndirect courses are designed to be completed in convenient chunks whenever it is convenient.

For example, an hour or two a week could be factored into a working day and the modules could be completed online from the employee's own desk.

>> Explore the range of IT courses available at learndirect - a great way to brush up or develop skills gaps in IT for employees.