BCS welcomes the Sainsbury Panel report

8 Jul 2016 04:12 PM

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, welcomes the Sainsbury Panel Report on technical education published recently concerned with the development of improved routes into technical careers supported by clear, employer-backed national standards.

Jeremy Barlow, Director of Standards at BCS says: “As the Chartered Institute for IT, we welcome the Sainsbury Panel report. We believe that by providing a set of clearly defined routes and standards for technical careers, we will be able to encourage and support more young people into digital careers, which is vital if we’re going to close the skills gap the UK currently faces. As an organisation with strong links to both employers and academia, we are ideally placed to play a key role with the next steps.”

The report has been produced by a panel of industry, further and higher education, and business sector experts, led by Lord Sainsbury, with the aim of improving technical education, giving young people the opportunity to follow a programme of study that allows them to see clearly how it leads to the world of work. The aim is to create 15 new technical routes, leading to skilled employment or further study, which will be as easy to understand as the academic option.

Ian Fairclough, Vice President, Global Delivery, Capgemini says: “Capgemini welcomes the recommendations in this report, it’s very important that we work together to enable young people to build the academic and practical skills they require for success in digital professions, but they also help create the talent that is vital in boosting the UK’s digital economy. Standards should provide new entrants with the foundation they need for a productive career in their chosen technical profession as well as meet the requirements of the business community.”

Jez Brooks, Apprentice Scheme Leader with IBM says: “The Sainsbury Panel report is a valuable insight into how we can begin to address the UK’s growing need to support technical routes into careers. At IBM, we have a long history of encouraging opportunities for young people which help meet our business needs and bridge the academic and work-based approaches to a technical career.”

Last year, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, launched the Register for IT Technicians (RITTech); a UK standard to recognise and promote professional competence in technical roles. Registration is a benchmark of current competence and enables employers to distinguish, recruit and retain professionals with the right capabilities and the right attitude. Registrants are able to demonstrate their professionalism, skills and knowledge against their chosen core technical area.

Speaking at the RITTech launch in November, Lord Sainsbury said: “Technicians in the science, engineering and IT industries have a vital role to play in the UK’s economic growth, and if we are going to increase the number, which we urgently need to do, it is important that we have a national system of qualifications which everyone understands and which works in the marketplace. I am delighted, therefore, that BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, is taking a leadership role in launching a registration system for IT technicians, RITTech, which will join its sister registration schemes - RSciTech and EngTech - for science and engineering technicians.”

www.gatsby.org.uk/SainsburyPanel

Contact the Press Office