IT Qualifications - What Can You Achieve?

IT is now an integral part of almost every aspect of modern life. It is an astonishing fact that around 21 million people in the UK use IT at work each day, while the IT industry itself is responsible for the design, development, manufacture, selling, installation and maintenance of computer-based information systems in everything from laptops to power-stations. There are an estimated 1.1 million IT professionals in the UK, distributed between around 120,000 IT companies and other industries, such as finance, the public sector, transport, storage, banking and communications. In addition, the services supplied by these professionals have a significant effect on the country's economy, being worth an estimated £57,000 million per year.

London and the South East employ around 40% of new graduates, where Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales account for only around 11% of the workforce. The average starting salary for a new graduate is around £30,000 with more experienced graduates and those aligning directly to large organizations being able to command more. The most common jobs in IT for new graduates include software engineering, IT consultancy, computer programming, systems analysis, computer analysis and computer operations management. As well as requiring IT skills, these posts also require problem-solving and strong communication skills, with the ability to work as part of a team.

The IT industry invests more in training than any other industry in the UK. The type of IT training depends on the aims of the business or company that a graduate is working for, but it is usually based in working with new technology. However, many graduates and professionals take it upon themselves to learn new IT skills to further their chances in the industry. There are training courses in most aspects of IT, including desktop support technicians, design and development courses, database server infrastructure design and professional developer qualifications. The industry seems to favour those with extra qualifications and these can lead to higher wages and longer IT careers. Courses are certified by most of the large operators, including Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA, CIW, Computeach, IC3 and Adobe.

There is a current trend in the UK IT industry for out-sourcing and off-shoring work; around 8% of IT operations are out-sourced overseas, pointing to a significant IT skills gap in the UK. Some companies have reported delays in the development of new products and services directly as a result of this. As the link between a lack of qualified professionals and product-delay becomes more evident, there has been a drive for more innovation and investment into IT training. Business projects that do not use IT in some shape or form are now in a significant minority, with companies now willing to spend more on new IT systems and professionals to maintain them. In the advent of this IT-driven age, even the government is looking for fully-qualified recruits to develop complex IT infrastructures for new ventures, such as the introduction of national ID cards and the smooth operations behind the 2012 Olympics.

IT has not only seen the dawn of a new era in business and commerce, but it looks to be a vital component of our everyday lives for the foreseeable future.