IT diploma to help close skills gap

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The new IT diploma could help Britain remain competitive, said schools minister Jim Knight.

At a conference today, the minister said the diploma - and others like it - offered a good mix of practical and academic education, which will help meet the demand for skilled IT professionals.

"In future, young people will need the mix of academic and practical skills the diploma delivers," he said. "By 2020, estimates suggest there will only be 600,000 unskilled people left in work in this country - whereas there will be 4.6 million more highly skilled jobs to fill. We are at the starting line of a global skills race which British businesses, universities and colleges must win - and diplomas will play a key role."

"These creative, innovative qualifications are unique in overcoming the artificial and unhelpful divide between academic and practical learning," he added.

The IT diploma is expected to launch in September 2008, alongside diplomas in construction, media, society and engineering. Already, 145 groups of schools are certified to offer courses, with 40,000 students expected to sign up in the first year.

As IT PRO reported this spring, the number of students opting to take degrees in IT-related subjects has halved over the past five years.

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