Open University places business relevance at the heart of new undergraduate degrees to address IT skills gap
The Open University has launched two new undergraduate Computing and IT degrees to help the UK overcome a recruitment crisis which sees employers struggling to fill an estimated 110,000 new IT jobs created this year [3]. Developed alongside e-skills UK and representatives from industry, the degrees incorporate work-based learning and offer credit for prior work experience to ensure they are fully compatible with current industry needs.
The BSc (Honours) Computing and IT and the BSc (Honours) Computing & IT and a second subject are a response to employer concern over the competency of the recruitment pool that is forcing companies to look overseas for their IT services. The Open University’s engagement with industry has highlighted a perceived lack of business acumen amongst those coming out of education and an inability to put technical skills to use in a work setting. Its recent Developing professionalism in new IT graduates? Who needs it? Report [2] found 43 percent of employers were concerned by how little knowledge applicants had about business operations.
The new undergraduate Computing and IT programmes will fill this gap in expertise, whilst offering employers an opportunity to up-skill their whole IT team without taking them out of the office.
Kevin Streater, Executive Director for IT and Telecoms at The Open University said: “These new degrees are the result of years of industry engagement and tackle two major issues raised by employers. The joint award programme allows candidates to study IT alongside commercial subjects, improving the business acumen of graduates, whilst the single award provides students with clear paths to specific IT roles giving them more specialised skills, and increasing their value to employers.”
The new degrees have been designed to accommodate the individual needs of students at various stages in their working life, and employers of all sizes from all sectors. Using a variety of inventive learning and assessment techniques, these courses can help both existing professionals progress their career and computer enthusiasts take the first step on the IT career ladder.
These techniques include:
• Work-based learning - offering a salary whilst you study for an internationally recognised honours degree
• Credit for hands-on placements and previous work experience to fast track experienced but unqualified IT workers through to internationally recognised accreditation
• A vendor certification pathway to ensure graduates can show employers a wide portfolio of relevant experience and internationally recognised certification of their skills
Richard Seaton, Senior Lecturer in Communication Systems at The Open University explains: “Workforce development is a principle aim of The Open University and has never been more relevant than within our IT sector right now. With work experience accreditation and internationally recognised vendor certification, these new undergraduate degrees will guarantee our students come out with the skills industry desperately needs. It continues a strong Open University tradition of developing rounded professionals that succeed in the work place.”
Mark Ratcliffe, Director of Higher Education Engagement at e-skills UK, who worked alongside The Open University in developing these degrees, said: “If we are to secure a healthy pipeline of talent coming into the industry then we need to engage people at all stages in their career in relevant industry learning. As a flexible and adaptable education provider, The Open University is perfectly placed to do this. Its emphasis on work-based learning means younger students with less experience can earn a salary as they study, whilst more experienced students can earn credits for their existing skills and knowledge.”
Paul Jagger, Business Area Manager for Learning Development at IBM and a member of the undergraduate Computing & IT programme committee that oversaw the development of these new degrees, said: “IBM’s involvement in the new curriculum is part of a long-term relationship with The Open University that aims to deliver the highest quality IT graduates with the skills employers want now and in the future.
“Mapping these degrees to BCS [5] accreditations and the SFIA framework [4] that underpins
IT staff recruitment and development in the UK, gives employers like IBM the confidence that sending staff on these degrees will deliver discernable and immediate returns on their investment”.
Notes:
2. The Open University’s Developing professionalism in new IT graduates? Who needs it? Report can be downloaded here - http://oro.open.ac.uk/28369/
3. Technology Insights 2011’- by e-skills UK published in January reported that employment in the IT & Telecoms industry over the next decade is forecast to grow nearly five times faster than the UK average and will therefore require 110,000 new entrants to keep up with demand. The report can be downloaded here - http://www.e-skills.com/technologyinsights2011
4. The Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) provides a common reference model for the identification of the skills needed to develop effective Information Systems (IS) making use of Information Communications Technologies (ICT). It is a simple and logical two-dimensional framework consisting of areas of work on one axis and levels of responsibility on the other.
It uses a common language and a sensible, logical structure that can be adapted to the training and development needs of a very wide range of businesses – or simply used ‘off the shelf’.
SFIA enables employers of IT professionals to carry out a range of HR activities against a common framework of reference - including skill audit, planning future skill requirements, development programmes, standardisation of job titles and functions, and resource allocation.
For more information, visit - http://www.sfia.org.uk/
5. BCS is The Chartered Institute for IT (formerly known as British Computer Society). It works to enable the information society and promotes wider social and economic progress through the advancement of information technology science and practice.
It bring together industry, academics, practitioners and government to share knowledge, promote new thinking, inform the design of new curricula, shape public policy and inform the public.