Government must pay to secure IT skills
The UK will face an IT ‘skills crunch’ by 2012 if the government does not offer employers incentives to train staff, a new report claims.
Tax and national insurance breaks for companies with staff on full-time IT training courses would reduce skills shortages, according to IT body Imis.
The UK is the only country in the Organisation for the Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that does not offer tax incentives to employers to develop their staff. It is at the bottom of the OECD league tables for workforce qualifications.
Imis claims that major government programmes will drain the market of IT skills, leading to a ‘skills crunch’ by 2012. Work on the Olympics, the NHS IT development and the country’s ID card system will make training new staff essential.
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US surges ahead of Europe on training spending
Training levels in Europe are falling as the US continues to surge ahead on skills investment, the world’s largest human capital report reveals.
The study of over 15,000 US and European organisations found that relative levels of spending on training are higher in the United States, as European expenditure has fallen year by year.
In Europe, the average number of training hours fell from 23.9 in 2003 to 19.7 in 2004 and investment in training also fell in absolute terms from €704 per employee in 2003 to €552 in 2004.
This is unlike in the US, where investment in training has risen on average by 5.5%.
The US has better results for people productivity and human capital return on investment.
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Training neglect hits UK business
UK business is suffering from a neglect of training and workforce communication, new research reveals.
The survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers claims that unless improvements are made to training, succession planning and communication, companies will struggle to compete in the global marketplace.
The survey quizzed over 500 chief executives, financial directors and human resource directors. Fifty eight per cent of firms identified learning and development as the most important way of improving employee performance, yet almost half (49%) said their line managers did not spend enough time training staff.
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Vocational skills training needs new approach
The government should rethink its effort to address skills shortages through vocational training and education, its own research reveals.
The report from the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) said there was an “obsession with blanket targets that treat the entire national workforce as a single entity.”
Further education colleges do not meet firms’ demand for short courses for staff because they focus too greatly upon hitting broad criteria.
“All their teaching and other resources are devoted to … meeting national targets for the achievement of whole qualifications,” it said.
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Skills crisis worsens for Scottish construction
Almost half (48%) of Scottish construction companies suffer skills shortages, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
The survey of 176 firms found a large difference between the sector’s skills gaps in Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Less than a third (28%) of non-Scottish UK firms quizzed reported skills shortages, a drop from 46% in 2003.
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Fast track degrees damage graduate skills
Plans to condense degrees into two year courses will damage graduate skills, lecturers’ union Natfhe claims. Roger Kline, head of higher education for the union, said the policy would “devalue” the degree and reduce skills.
“We believe it fails to acknowledge the importance of developing critical and analytical skills while studying for a degree,” he said.
“Reducing study time may diminish the degree experience by replacing considered study with intensive ‘cramming’ – this would not develop the skills we need from graduates.”
Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell disagreed, claiming that there was “no question of ‘devaluing’ degrees”.
“Anyone studying a condensed degree would have to have the same knowledge and understanding as those studying for three years – there is no question of lowering the bar,” he commented.
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Workers over-trained but under-skilled
Employees are over-qualified for their jobs as skills training fails to meet workforce needs, research shows.
Among workers aged between 20 and 60, almost three quarters (73%) hold qualifications of a higher standard than that required for their job, the Department for Education and Skills (DFES) reports.
This is a leap from 29% in 1986, and a third (33%) in 1992. The DFES claims this shows that skills are being developed but not necessarily used.
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