Decline in Computing Students Is ‘Potentially Disastrous Situation’, According to UK Academics

CPHC Report – A Study on the IT labour market in the UK

The Council of Professors and Heads of Computing in the UK (CPHC) announces the launch of a new report , entitled “A Study on the IT labour market in the UK”, commissioned by CPHC through the British Computer Society (BCS) and carried out by Research Insights Ltd, a market survey organisation.

This report highlights the growing gap between the number of students successfully completing UK Higher Education Computing awards and the needs of the job market place in the UK. The situation in the UK with respect to the number of students taking degree qualifications in computing is now dire, with application levels having dropped by 50% to below those of 1996, at a time when the IT job market is growing and predicted to continue growing by 15% over the next 8 years.

In terms of the needs of the British knowledge economy and the global competitiveness of the UK IT industry, this represents a potentially disastrous situation which, without immediate action, will seriously compromise the UK’s position in this vital world market.

For further information and enquiries please contact Prof. Lachlan MacKinnon at [email protected].