Executives Work With Firms To Support The ICT Sector

During the Digital Summit organised by Momentum, Executive Ministers will outline how they are working collaboratively to support the ICT sector.

The Summit brought together all of the main stakeholders. Representatives from across government, the education sector and business discussed how they will work together to create thousands of new and sustainable jobs by focusing on increasing access to skills, funding and new markets.

Speaking at the start of the Conference, Employment and Learning Minister Dr Stephen Farry said: "The ICT sector is crucial to our local economy. It is the driving force of a globally competitive economy, underpinning innovation, competitiveness and long term prosperity.

"I have been working closely with other government Departments, employers, our local further education colleges and universities, through the ICT Working Group which I chair, to develop and implement an ICT Skills Action Plan. The Plan has already produced significant positive results with undergraduate applications to IT-related degrees at both our universities having increased by over 24% and new MSc courses for non-IT graduates are now being offered by Queen’s University and the University of Ulster. Skills initiatives such as the Software Testers Academy, the Cloud Academy and ICT apprenticeships are also proving successful to support the local industry and I will continue to review the ICT Action Plan to ensure its responsiveness to the economic context."

(CD/MH)