#ByteIT

“It’s a horrible thing to say, but there’s just not enough time [in college to learn] all the skills that people need to be successful. We are expecting more and more, and universities are supplying more, but we’re asking for still more”

So says Greg Taffet, CIO of U.S. Gas & Electric in North Miami Beach, in a recent article in ComputerWorld which has identified the 6 key skills employers find IT grads to be lacking.

• Knowledge of business basics
• Experience with systems integration
• Emerging technologies expertise - business intelligence and cloud computing are named examples
• The tech basics - such as command prompt, batch scripts, and Googling for answers
• Familiarity with legacy systems
• The ability to work in a team

It should sound familiar - e-skills UK Technology Insights has found employers in the UK suffering from much the same.

For an industry which employs 1.5 million people across virtually every sector of the UK economy, it’s perhaps surprising that employers are still struggling to find graduates with the skills they really need.

It was for this reason that e-skills UK’s IT Management for Business (ITMB) degree was developed. It’s a sector-supported honours degree programme developed in response to demand from employers for IT grads with a solid grasp of technology and the business-related and interpersonal skills to work effectively in project teams and client-facing roles.

How important are the so-called “softer” skills to your organisation - tell us what you think…

e-skills UK has just announced this year’s Make IT Happy, the annual technology competition for primary schools.

This year’s theme is Make IT Healthy, and we’re challenging pupils and teachers to show us how they’re using IT to improve their own or others’ health – whether that’s physical, mental or emotional. Any project on a health-related topic that uses technology could be a winner – why not show us what you’re doing in PHSE, develop a project around the Olympics, add a technology element to your mentoring programme, or start something completely new for the competition.

There are 12 regional prizes of £1,200 up for grabs, and overall 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes of £4,000, £2,500 and £1,500 as well. Winning schools will also be invited to a ceremony at the Houses of Parliament in London.

Find out more information, and register your interest today, at:

http://makeithappy.cc4g.net/make-it-happy-2012/register-for-2012/

Source: Silicon.com

The government is to create a GCSE that will focus on teaching schoolchildren core principles of computer programming - helping them develop the kind of IT skills employers need.

The new IT GCSE, which does not yet have an official name, will be additional to the current ICT GCSE, which IT industry experts have long attacked for putting kids off careers in IT and failing to excite them about technology.

The new qualification will cover computational principles, systemic thinking, software development and logic, according to a spokesman for the department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

The government also plans to develop a new A-Level qualification focused on the same computational principles as the new IT-centric GCSE but will introduce the GCSE first, said the spokesman. There is no timeframe for when the new GCSE or A-Level will be introduced.

Dr Tom Crick, senior lecturer in computer science at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, said an overhaul of the IT curriculum is long overdue - describing it as of “strategic national importance” that every schoolchild has the opportunity to study computing.

“It is crucial that there is an emphasis on [schoolchildren] developing the crucial computational thinking, problem-solving and deep analytical skills. These are the skills that employers want, plus they are applicable to numerous industries, not just the sciences,” he told silicon.com, adding: “A continued lack of focus in computer science education could hinder job opportunities for many students currently in school today and have serious ramifications for the UK economy over the next 10 to 20 years.”

A landmark IT GCSE qualification is also vital to encourage more young people to study computer science in higher education, according to Crick, who noted that admissions to computer science at that level have been static for years.

The new GCSE will be developed with the help of a programme called ‘Behind the Screen’, which has been devised by UK IT sector skills body e-skills UK. e-skills is working in partnership with a range of IT employers including the BBC, Capgemini, Cisco, Deloitte, HP, IBM, John Lewis, Microsoft, National Grid and Procter & Gamble to enhance IT teaching in schools and improve kids’ understanding of technology.

Under this programme, 20 schools will be involved in pilots that will include IT employers more directly in lessons and look at ways to enhance the IT curriculum.

Schools that will be involved in the pilot include Bradfield College in Reading, Manchester Grammar School, Park House School in Newbury and Townley Grammar in Bexleyheath. The pilot will kick off this November and run for two school terms, concluding next June, according to the BIS spokesman.

Source: Computer Weekly

IT courses for students taking A-levels at school could be closed due to funding gaps, according to a report from the Committee of Public Accounts on value for money in further education.

School sixth forms currently receive £280 per student more than colleges, but following the government’s spending review, the Department for Education has committed to reduce all school funding to the amount colleges currently receive. This is due to be completed by 2015.

Principals at schools told the committee they had made savings by identifying expensive courses and closing them when funding falls below a certain level. Resource-intensive courses such as construction, science and technology are most at risk, they said. Other measures taken to reduce costs include increasing set sizes.

Margaret Hodge, chair of the committee, said smaller providers, such as school sixth forms, could save costs through collaboration. “However, the competitive market in which providers operate can act as a barrier to cooperation,” she added.

The news comes as the IT industry prepares for another drop in the number of students studying IT-related courses as 2011’s GCSE and A-level students await their exam results this month.