NI Software Skills Highlighted

Hi tech skills shortages in the computer software industry are to receive extra attention.

The NI Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey, has just launched a new action plan to tackle the skills needs of the software industry in Northern Ireland.

He said this joint programme of activity, which has been developed with Invest NI, E-skills UK (the Sector Skills Council for IT and Telecoms) and Momentum (the NIICT Trade Federation), contains a range of short term measures to boost the number of people studying and working in this key sector.

Speaking about the new plan at a meeting with industry representatives, organised by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Sir Reg said: "Growing a dynamic and innovative economy lies at the heart of the Executive’s blueprint for Northern Ireland - the Programme for Government.

"Turning that vision into reality in many areas of business will mean being able to carry out business more effectively and efficiently – in today's world that often involves a digital solution.

"Northern Ireland's software industry is at the heart of producing such digital solutions.

"It is already a vibrant industry with jobs in the sector predicted to grow at over three times the rate of overall employment growth here.

"For this growth to take place we need highly skilled and talented people to keep entering the industry. Instead, what we are seeing are fewer and fewer people going into university courses like computer science and less and less going on to take up jobs in the sector," he said.

A joint arrangement is very important he believed: "We are working in partnership with industry to promote this message. We need the industry to help us take forward these actions and be out there telling the story that Northern Ireland’s ICT sector is open for business," said the Minister.

"Through the activities in this plan we want to take the first steps in turning this situation around.

"We will reach out to young people and show them that a career in ICT can be fun, exciting and well paid.

"We also need to reach out to their parents and other influencers to reassure them that the industry can offer good quality jobs with good prospects, and tackle the negative perceptions which currently exist."

See: www.delni.gov.uk/ictactionplan.