IT skills crisis hitting Scottish businesses

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COMPANIES in the UK are experiencing an IT skills shortage, with many struggling to secure the staff they need to drive forward important initiatives.

However, making greater use of university students is one way that companies can plug a skills gap.

A British Computer Society report suggests there is an increasing demand, yet decreasing supply, of computer science and information systems graduates in the UK.

Figures show that, in the past four years, demand for IT and computer graduates has doubled, while the number of students starting computing courses in higher education has fallen by more than 40% since 2001.

In an already competitive marketplace, the increasing scarcity of the right people has implications for all industries. For any business with a focus on computing, though, the stakes are high and attracting the right people is crucial for success.

A recent survey by ScotlandIS, an independent IT trade body, found that the outlook for business in the Scottish information technology sector is extremely positive, with 90% of respondents predicting growth.

The biggest constraint is thought to be access to suitably qualified individuals with computing expertise.

A Bank of Scotland labour market report confirms that permanent IT and computing staff are the most sought after people in Scottish business.

Professor Ian Allison, head of the School of Computing at The Robert Gordon University, said: “Securing staff with specialised knowledge in areas such as business systems, software engineering and intelligent data analysis is becoming increasingly difficult and hindering business development.

“More companies are approaching us to try to secure in advance the services of promising students as a solution to their staffing requirements.”

In response to this increasing demand, RGU’s School of Computing has extended its highly valued placement programme to include some of its postgraduate courses.

The top students on the MSc Information Engineering/MSc Information Engineering (Network Management) courses will be eligible to take up this opportunity.

Prof Allison said: “These students already have a good degree in computing and, combined with additional specialist knowledge, are able to make a positive contribution to a company in areas such as e-business systems, software engineering and intelligent data analysis.

“With placements lasting 12 months, it is an effective way for businesses to address a skills shortage, with the option of offering the student a full-time position once they graduate.”

Any company interested in investigating the possibility of taking an IT student on placement should contact Valerie Cheatham on 01224 262344.