| The continuing move by corporates to offshore traditional IT services is putting increasing pressure on UK IT professionals to deliver more relevant skills, warns a new report on offshoring from the British Computer Society (BCS). UK employers are reporting a growing difficulty in recruiting IT practitioners who can offer accomplished and qualified second generation skills such as project management, business analysis, supplier management and security.
The report, "Embracing the Challenge, Exploiting the Opportunities: Building a World Class IT Profession in the Era of Global Sourcing", produced by the BCS working party chaired by Elizabeth Sparrow1 and published on May 8 2006, describes a seven point action plan to help the UK IT profession respond to the threat posed by globalization focusing on:
- BCS professionalism in IT
- recruitment and education of future generations of IT practitioners
- helping employees develop successful careers
- influencing and advising the government over IT issues
- working with employers enabling them to make the most of their IT staff
- supporting innovation and celebrating excellence in IT
- BCS thought leadership role
The BCS led Professionalism in IT programme is seen by the working party as central to ensuring that IT practitioners offer skills to meet new UK employer requirements. The ground breaking professionalism in IT programme developed by an alliance of public and private organisations and businesses, aims to raise professional standards and improve the ability of IT practitioners to deliver IT solutions which will add benefit to the business environment. The programme includes the development of a chartered IT professional designation (CITP) which will deliver the gold standard.
The report also calls for the UK education system to encourage young people to consider IT as a career option and increase the number of graduates entering the industry to counter the decline in numbers of students following IT related courses. This is set against a background where employment in the UK IT industry is forecast to grow at five to eight times the average employment growth in the UK over the next decade.
Elizabeth Sparrow, chair of the working party explains: "In order to meet the challenge of offshoring, the IT profession needs to take action now to raise professional standards and meet immediate as well as anticipate future business needs. It applies right across the board from the education sector to business and government. But it is also important for individuals to take responsibility for developing their own career paths and value added skills that are not available offshore. We have to encourage creativity and innovation and celebrate excellence in order to ensure the UK maintains its competitiveness in the global marketplace."
The full report: "Embracing the Challenge, Exploiting the Opportunities: Building a World Class IT Profession in the Era of Global Sourcing" is available at: www.bcs.org/offshoring/report. | 
