£14bn IT Spend To Boost Workers' Skills And Job Prospects

Companies winning Government-funded IT contracts will have to fulfil a commitment to skills training, Skills Secretary John Denham announced today.

The Government currently spends nearly £14 billion a year on procuring IT services and Mr Denham wants to make sure this spend contributes to improving the skills base of the IT workforce.

The IT sector has significant potential for providing the jobs of the future and economic growth.

The Government's chief information officers have committed all government departments and agencies to look at requiring successful contractors to have in place a development plan for their workforce.

Improving skills across the whole IT sector will ensure the industry can compete internationally and take full advantage of job opportunities that will arise in the future.

Skills Secretary John Denham said: "We have to make every taxpayer's pound work as hard as we can. Wherever possible Government spending should not just provide good public services, it should also ensure young people are trained in the skills we need for the future.

"The IT industry is one of the industries which is critical to the future of the British economy and its ability to survive and thrive post-recession. It's vitally important that British business has IT skills to draw on at all levels."

At a summit held yesterday, the Secretary of State met the Government's chief information officer, John Suffolk, and leading IT industry representatives to discuss how government and industry can work together to promote investment in skills in the IT sector through procurement.

The move is part of a radical shake-up of the skills and training system instigated by the Skills Secretary to tackle expected skills shortages and to ensure that we have a workforce with the 'right skills in the right place at the right time'.

(JM/BMcC)